Liberation
by Ny Batteri
Summary: A member of the Cyrodiil guard wakes up in Vvardenfell, with no recollection of the previous week of his life. He becomes entangled in a plot involving Elven terrorists, the Great Houses, the Morag Tong and the corruption that links the three together.
1. Awakening

**Chapter 1 - Awakening**

"Help!"

Lando suddenly woke up and sat bolt upright. He looked around.

_Where in Oblivion am I? _he thought to himself. He quickly took in his surroundings – he was lying in thick, rough grass and was surrounded by gently undulating hills, populated by the occasional tree.

"Help!" the voice shouted again. Lando got up and spun round to see a young woman, Imperial by the looks of it, running towards him.

"I'm being attacked by bandits!" she shouted between breaths. "My guard's been killed! You have to help!"

On the floor next to Lando, a sword in seemingly excellent condition seemed to have just been discarded next to where he was lying. Lando picked it up, and looked at his own body for the first time – much to his surprise, he was dressed in a full suit, apart from the helmet, of chainmail armour.

_There must be an explanation for this…_

"Stay behind me!" Lando said to the woman as he ran off in the direction she had appeared from. As he came to the crest of a slight hill, he could see two men running towards him. One was carrying a rusty-looking mace, the other a longbow.

Thoughts instantly came into Lando's head. _Keep the man with the mace between yourself and the marksman and you won't get hit._

Lando ran at the man carrying the mace as the archer fired an arrow in his direction. Lando dived to the ground and rolled to avoid the missile, then leapt to his feet and engaged the mace-wielder.

He swung the sword hard, but the bandit blocked it with a powerful swing of his mace. Lando briefly reeled in shock from the impact, and the bandit used this moment to swing his mace horizontally at Lando's head. Lando quickly ducked, and as the bandit was spun round by the momentum of the mace, Lando seized the opportunity and thrust his sword into the abdomen of the bandit. He could feel the man writhe for a few seconds, before he became still. Lando pulled his sword out of the bandit's dead body and ran towards the archer, ducking and rolling to avoid the barrage of arrows being fired at him. However, as he got closer, the bandit fired an arrow at point-blank range. He couldn't miss.

The arrow slammed into Lando's left arm. Pain shot through his entire body.

"Aaaargh!" he shouted as he lunged forwards at the archer, spurred on by adrenaline. The archer dropped his bow and reached for a dagger on his belt, but he wasn't quick enough – Lando sunk his sword into the archer's chest, causing him to freeze where he stood with a look of absolute horror on his face, before Lando withdrew the sword and the bandit dropped to the floor, dead.

"By the Gods, are you alright?" said the Imperial woman, who had appeared at his side. She sat him down on the grass and placed her hands round the arrow sticking out of Lando's arm.

"This might hurt" she said in an inappropriately calm voice, then she pulled sharply on the arrow, pulling it from Lando's arm. Lando clenched his teeth as pain shot through his arm. The woman reached into the bag she was carrying and produced a small clay pot of a dark red paste. She scooped a small amount out with her fingers, pulled Lando's bracer off his arm and began rubbing the paste into the wound.

"Who are you? Where am I?" Lando said. Strangely, he trusted the young woman.

"My name is Alaina Winterstar, freelance alchemist. You're in Vvardenfell, in the Ascadian Isles, north of Pelagiad and west of Suran." Alaina placed the pot of red paste back in her bag and sat down next to Lando.

"I'm in Morrowind? But I…" Lando said.

"Why? Where did you think you were? Who are you?"

"I'm Lando Armitage, I work as an Imperial guard in Chorrol…"

"Chorrol? But that's in Cyrodiil, isn't it? How did you get here?"

"You tell me…" Lando got up and looked at the sky. It was early evening and the two moons were just about visible. But something wasn't quite right about their position in the sky…

"Alaina, what is today's date?"

"It's the 23rd day of Last Seed"

Lando sat down again and placed his hands on his forehead.

"The last thing I can remember was being on night watch in Chorrol… exactly a week ago…"

"Erm, I hate to impose…" Alaina said, standing up. "But I need to get to Suran before nightfall, and my guard was killed by the bandits…"

Lando stood up next to her.

"Come on then, I need a drink and a warm bed as soon as possible"

The journey to Suran passed without event, and at around 10:00 that evening Lando and Alaina arrived at the town gates. Throughout the journey they had talked non-stop – Lando about how he had asked to be transferred to a more peaceful job guarding the relatively crime-free town of Chorrol after fighting in two great battles against the Daedric prince Mehrunes Dagon, Alaina about her work – she lived in Tel Mora and created potions in her home, then travelled across Vvardenfell under armed guard selling them to traders and apothecaries. Judging by the exquisite red and gold robe she was dressed in, there was a lot of money in the freelance alchemy business. Alaina also told Lando about the latest news story in Vvardenfell – a group of Dunmer and Bosmer known as the Meric Liberation Front were attempting to disrupt the Imperial grasp of the province. Already, gunpowder had been used to damage the Imperial presence in Ebonheart, Gnisis and Sadrith Mora, and several high-ranking guards had been assassinated. The Altmer condemned these acts of terrorism and had refused to join in.

"I hope we're not too late" Alaina said as the pair walked into Suran. "I'm usually here in daylight" Alaina turned to the left and walked up some steps into the northern part of Suran. Lando followed her.

Alaina stopped at a door and knocked three times on the door. A sign above read simply 'Suran Apothecary'. It was one of the many new shops that had appeared in Suran – Vvardenfell's economy was booming after the import and export business re-opened after the Blight was abolished.

A few minutes later, a tired-looking Dunmer woman opened the door.

"Alaina! I thought you weren't going to make it!" she said.

"Sorry, Maryon, trouble on the journey. Rain and bandits. The shipment survived though" Alaina replied. She opened her bag and took out a cloth sack which was taking up most of the space in the bag. Lando noticed the remaining contents – another smaller sack, the pot of red paste, a few small glass bottles containing various potions, and a purse which no doubt contained money.

Maryon took the bag from Alaina.

"I'm a bit tired, I'll do the stock count and pay up tomorrow morning" Maryon said. "If that's alright with you, that is"

"That's fine, but it'll be quite early tomorrow morning" Alaina said. "I've got to get to Molag Mar before midday"

"Well, you know I open up shop at 8 in the morning, and that's quite early enough for me! Goodnight, Alaina"

With that, Maryon closed the door. The sound of a latch being bolted came from inside. Alaina turned to Lando.

"Fancy a pint?"

"Thought you'd never ask"

Several hours later, in a small, crowded tavern in Suran, Lando and Alaina sat at a small table surrounded by empty bottles. Alaina was on her fourth ale, Lando on his sixth, and both were starting to feel the effects.

Using empty bottles as props, Alaina was trying to explain her trade route across Vvardenfell to Lando.

"So the end of the route is in Molag Mar, west of here, then I go all the way back up here to Tel Mora…"

As she moved her hand across the table, Lando lightly took it in his. Alaina grasped Lando's hand tightly and looked up at him.

"Thanks" Lando said."

"For what?"

"Just thanks"

Alaina smiled, then leaned across the table and kissed Lando on the lips. However, the romance was disrupted by the smash of glass from across the tavern.

"I'll kill you, I swear! Even if it means I'll spend the rest of my life in the dungeon I'll kill you!"

Lando and Alaina looked across the room. An Argonian male wearing a black robe and hood had smashed a bottle on the edge of the bar and was striding towards a Dunmer who had just walked into the bar. Lando noticed that the Dunmer was wearing a large amulet crafted from what looked like Daedric ebony around his neck. The Dunmer turned round and bolted out of the bar. The Argonian tried to follow him, but another Argonian sitting by the door got up and restrained him.

"Easy now, swamp-brother, you don't want to be in any more trouble"

The Argonian nodded and walked towards the bar, placing a handful of gold on it.

"If anyone comes looking for me, I'm not here"

The barman, an old Imperial man, scooped up the money and gave it back to the Argonian.

"You don't need to pay me to look after you, Shadow-Runner"

_Shadow-Runner._ The name rang a bell in Lando's head. He knew he recognised the Argonian!

"I know him" Lando said quietly to Alaina. "His real name's Ah-Mazia. We intercepted an illegal slave ship docking in Anvil years ago. He was on board and we set him free"

The Argonian strode upstairs to the room he had rented.

"Come on, we need to get a room for the night" Alaina said, taking Lando's hand and motioning him to get up. "Two rooms to be exact" she added, flashing a wicked grin at Lando. "I'm not like those Nord women!"

Lando was awoken by a knock on his bedroom door. He opened his eyes. Sunlight was flooding in through the small window above him. As he moved his head he realised he had a severe migraine, no doubt from the amount he had drunk the previous night.

"Come in!" he said drowsily. The door opened and Alaina stepped in.

"I've got to continue on my trade route now, do you want to come with me? See a few of the sights of Vvardenfell?"

"Yes. Yes I do" Lando replied, getting out of bed. Alaina handed him a small glass bottle half-filled with a clear liquid.

"Hangover cure, half each" she said, smiling. "I thought you might need it"

Lando watched the beautiful Imperial woman walk out of his room. He had never understood the fairer gender – had last night's kiss meant anything or was it an effect of the alcohol? Was Alaina asking him to travel with her because she needed a guard, or was there another reason? And the question that was bothering him the most – how did he even get here in the first place?

_Sadrith Mora, docks, 2 days later_

The boat slowly slid into Sadrith Mora docks. It was a grim, overcast day and the waters of the Sea of Ghosts and Azura's Coast had been choppy – the boat journey from Molag Mar had not been a pleasant one.

"Now what?" Lando asked as him and Alaina disembarked from the large ferry.

"We need to get a boat from here to Tel Mora" Alaina replied. "But I'm hungry, I don't know about you"

Lando nodded.

"We can get some food at the inn just up…" Alaina cut off abruptly.

"What?" Lando asked. Alaina pointed across the small bay – another boat had just moored. But more interesting was the figure who had just stepped off it.

"It's that Argonian" Alaina said. "The one from the inn in Suran"

Lando strode over to where the Argonian was walking off the ship and stopped him in his tracks. Alaina followed closely behind him.

"Have you been following us?" Lando said. Ah-Mazia looked Lando in the eyes.

"My business here is my own, Captain Armitage"

"I'm sure I saw him in Molag Mar as well!" Alaina chipped in.

"Ah-Mazia" Lando said, grabbing the Argonian's arm tightly. "Seeing me again after I freed you was a pleasant surprise. A second meeting was co-incidence. But a third time – you're up to something"

"You want to know why I'm here?" Ah-Mazia said angrily, pushing Lando away. He pulled his robe open to show a bow and a quiver of arrows slung over his shoulders. The quiver was empty, save for five arrows. "I need arrows, and Ranger's Armory here in Sadrith Mora has the best selection"

Lando looked at Alaina.

"I know the shop. Specialises in equipment for marksmen" Alaina said.

"OK, I'll believe you" Lando said to Ah-Mazia, "For now. Now, how about that food, Alaina?"

All of a sudden, an almighty rumble came from the south side of the island. All three of them whipped round to see that Wolverine Hall, the Imperial stronghold on the island, appeared to be sinking into the ground!

It was an incredible sight, watching the two towers of Wolverine Hall simply disappear into the ground in a spectacular fountain of rubble.

"By the Nine…" Lando gasped as he watched this extraordinary event. "How…?"

"There are underground caves under Wolverine Hall! It must have subsided!" Ah-Mazia exclaimed.

"Caves…?" Alaina said, confused.

"Yes, only accessible underwater" Ah-Mazia said. "Hardly anyone knows of their existence. I used to… erm… keep things there…" The Argonian quickly realised the error of what he said as both Lando and Alaina started at him.

"We'll worry about that later" Lando said. "Ah-Mazia, come with me! Alaina, I'll find you later on in Tel Mora!" With that he ran off in the direction of what used to be Wolverine Hall.

"Lando, wait!" Alaina shouted. She had cottoned on to what he was up to. Lando ran back to Alaina, who handed him one of the bottles of potion from her bag. "Drink it before you go into the water, then just breathe normally"

Lando thanked Alaina and started running back towards the remains of Wolverine Hall, Ah-Mazia close behind him.

Ah-Mazia pointed at something sticking out of the ground near the shoreline. "I left it as a marker" he explained. "It's a broken chitin dagger – I figured it would be of so little worth to anyone that they wouldn't bother moving it"

Ah-Mazia began striding into the sea. Lando drank the contents of the bottle Alaina had given him then followed him. When Ah-Mazia was about 20 feet out, he waited for Lando to catch up then they both submerged. Ah-Mazia swam straight downwards with powerful strokes, carrying a dagger in his teeth should any sealife choose to attack him. When he and Lando reached a depth of around 30 feet, Ah-Mazia pointed to a small opening in the cliff face. He swam into it, Lando close behind, breathing comfortably under the spell of the Potion of the Sea he had just drank.

The pair surfaced in a pool in a large but low-ceilinged cavern. They climbed out near a small tunnel leading out of the cavern.

"Right. That subsidence can't have happened naturally otherwise it wouldn't have taken this long to happen" Lando said. "We need to find out what caused it, or better still, who caused it"

"OK, but before we set off I've got something for you" Ah-Mazia said, walking over to a large rock near the entrance to the tunnel. He placed his hands on the rock and, much to Lando's surprise, simply lifted the top half of the rock off! Lando walked over to look – the rock had been hollowed out and split horizontally in two. The workmanship was immaculate – when the two halves were placed together it looked just like a normal rock.

Ah-Mazia reached into the rock and pulled out a long object covered by a black cloth. He pulled off the cloth to reveal something Lando had never seen in his life – a glass longsword. Made from a green volcanic glass which was far tougher, lighter and sharper than any metal, it was one of the finest - and rarest - weapons a swordsman could want. Ah-Mazia gave the weapon to Lando.

"Thanks. I won't ask who you stole it from"

Ah-Mazia looked slightly offended. "I didn't steal it from anyone, I found it in a Dwemer fortress I was exploring with some friends"

"Nice!" Lando said, genuinely impressed.

"I was going to keep it to sell if I ever needed money" Ah-Mazia continued, "But I never got a proper chance to thank you for giving me freedom, so I want you to have it"

Lando opened his mouth to thank Ah-Mazia, but was interrupted when he noticed something rather disturbing on Ah-Mazia's belt. A dagger, also made from glass, almost completely covered in dried blood.

"We'll talk about that later too" Lando said. "Right now though, unless I'm very much mistaken, we've got some terrorists to hunt!"


	2. Alteration

**Chapter 2 - Alteration**

Lando and Ah-Mazia emerged from the long tunnel in a large cavern. By the light of Lando's torch, they could see that it was almost completely filled with fallen masonry, which they presumed to be what was left of Wolverine Hall.

"Drink this" Ah-Mazia said, taking a small bottle off his belt.

"You first" Lando replied.

"You're not very trusting, are you?" Ah-Mazia said, swigging from the bottle. He handed it to Lando, who briefly hesitated then swallowed a large mouthful of it. All of a sudden everything became lit up in a pale blue glow.

"Night-eye potion" Ah-Mazia said. "Extremely useful"

"There!" Lando whispered. "Climbing up the rubble!"

Ah-Mazia whipped round to look at what Lando had seen. Two figures were climbing up the rubble to a small hollow in the wall of the cave, which four other figures were standing in. Ah-Mazia nocked an arrow in his bow.

"Wait, they could be survivors!" Lando said. However, he had just finished his sentence when an arrow whistled past his head, a mere inch from hitting him!

"There's your answer!" Ah-Mazia said. Lando dropped the torch and extinguished it with his foot, plunging the cavern into darkness again. Except that himself and Ah-Mazia could still see.

Ah-Mazia motioned for Lando to move to the natural shelter offered by a large rock sticking up from the floor of a cavern, whilst he drew back the arrow and fired. His aim was good – it hit one of the figures squarely between the eyes, sending their dead body flying backwards.

"Lando!" he shouted, "I've only got four arrows left!"

_Great, _Lando thought to himself. Ah-Mazia nocked another one of his arrows. He spotted another of the figures unsheathing a bow. The figure had barely pulled an arrow from their quiver when one of Ah-Mazia's arrows slammed into his forehead, killing him instantly.

"Ah-Mazia! Look out!" Lando shouted suddenly. A glowing white projectile of some sort was flying towards them, unleashed by one of the figures! Ah-Mazia leapt out of its way as it slammed into the ground in a brilliant flash of white light which lit up the cavern as bright as daylight. But rather than subsiding, the 'flash' became a constant source of light.

"Light spell!" Lando shouted. This was not good – they had lost the advantage. However, they could now see the remaining four figures – three Dunmer and a Bosmer, all dressed in worn-looking clothes and all carrying bows, two of the Dunmer also carrying swords.

Suddenly, however, the Bosmer who was still climbing up the pile of rubble was hit in the shoulder by an arrow, causing him to scream in pain and relieve his grip of the steep wall of rubble. His screaming continued all the way until he hit the ground.

Lando and Ah-Mazia spun round to see the source of the arrow. Four Telvanni guards - three swordsmen and an archer - were standing by the entrance to the tunnel.

One of them ran over to the rock Lando and Ah-Mazia were sheltering behind.

"Meric Liberation Front attack!" the guard said. "A member of their organisation was shouting in the streets of Sadrith Mora that they were responsible!"

"Who's in command?" Lando said to the guard.

"That'd be me, Captain Garven Ormaren of the Telvanni Guard" the guard replied. "And we could do with your help, outlanders"

Lando gave the guard a look of disgust when he heard the term 'outlander'. The amount of xenophobia in the Telvanni areas of Vvardenfell was ridiculous.

"Our best bet is to storm their position whilst Ah-Mazia and your marksman give us covering fire" Lando said.

"How are we going to storm a small opening at the top of a pretty-much-vertical wall?" Ormaren said dryly.

"Oh yeah, hadn't thought of that…"

Suddenly there was a loud 'Whoosh!' from where the terrorists were. Everyone looked up to see an enormous fireball flying towards them!

"Scatter!" Ormaren yelled. The three Telvanni guards and Ah-Mazia all ran away from the tunnel entrance as the fireball hit the ground just in front of it, exploding with a shocking force. Ah-Mazia and one of the Telvanni were thrown off their feet by the explosion. Agile even for an Argonian, Ah-Mazia managed to land on his feet, but the Telvanni soldier collided hard with a rock on the floor of the cavern. He lay unconscious as blood seeped out of a wound on his forehead.

"Valen! Get him to cover now!, Aldaros, Argonian, return fire! Come on!"

Ah-Mazia took an arrow from his quiver and nocked it, whilst Aldaros, one of the Telvanni soldiers, readied the bow he was carrying.

"Give me some cover!" Lando shouted over the chaos. He had spotted a small opening in the side of the cavern which led upwards, and he was hoping it would lead to the terrorists' position.

"Covering fire!" Ormaren shouted. He dropped his sword and held his hands up towards the terrorists – a bolt of lightning flew from them, lighting up the cavern even brighter. The bolt missed its intended target, but combined with a volley of arrows from Aldaros and Ah-Mazia it forced the terrorists back into their small cavern.

Meanwhile, Valen had used a strong healing potion to help Naryos, the wounded Telvanni soldier, to regain consciousness.

"Are you OK?" Valen asked him.

"I'll live" Naryos said, shakily getting up.

"_Look out!"_

Naryos had barely risen to his feet when another fireball slammed into the wall above him, completely engulfing him and Valen. Neither of them would have stood a chance of surviving the blast.

"Damnit! You'll pay for that, you fetchers!" Ormaren yelled as he unleashed another bolt of lightning. This time, it hit the Dunmer who had launched the fireball squarely in the chest. His body convulsed gruesomely before falling to the ground.

There were now three terrorists against Lando, Ah-Mazia, Ormaren and Aldaros. Lando had reached the small opening near the remains of Wolverine Hall.

"Ah-Mazia! Get over here!" he shouted. Ah-Mazia broke out of cover and ran towards him, as Aldaros and Ormaren continued firing at the terrorists, who were still unleashing a constant stream of arrows at them. Before he entered the small opening, he ran over to the dead body of the Bosmer archer who had been climbing the wall, and emptied the contents of the terrorist's quiver into his own. They were chitin arrows, cheap but not as effective as the steel arrows Ah-Mazia favoured. He took them anyway as he had now used up his own supply of arrows. He ran across the bottom of the pile of rubble to join Lando.

"I trust you more than those racist bastards!" Lando said to him, nodding at Ormaren and Aldaros. "Come on!"

Lando and Ah-Mazia ran up the tunnel quickly but light-footed, to avoid drawing attention to themselves. Sure enough, they rounded a corner and found themselves in the small cavern where the terrorists were fortified. At that point, everything happened at once.

Aldaros fired an arrow at one of the terrorists, who at almost exactly the same moment fired his own bow at Aldaros. Both arrows found their mark.

Aldaros was hit in the stomach, however his armour sapped most of the power from the arrow, causing no more than a flesh wound.

He fared a lot better than the Bosmer terrorist, who was hit squarely in the chest, the power of the arrow gruesomely pinning his corpse to a pile of barrels behind him.

Whilst this was going on, Lando burst out of the small tunnel and plunged his sword between the shoulder-blades of one of the remaining terrorists. Due to its light weight, Lando was able to put tremendous power behind the glass sword and it sliced straight through the Dunmer like a knife through butter. The Dunmer's comrade had just turned to see this happen when an arrow from Ah-Mazia slammed into the side of his head at point-blank range. Instant death.

------

"Lando, come and look at this!" Ah-Mazia said. Lando looked up from the barrel he was searching through. Ormaren had briefly left the cavern then returned with a healer to help Aldaros, and then the three of them had left. Ah-Mazia and Lando were searching the caverns for any clues as to how they had caused an entire fortress to collapse.

Lando looked through the gap in the wreckage Ah-Mazia was pointing through. Through it he could see the rest of the cavern, filled with rubble, but there were two very unusual things.

Firstly, the entire ceiling of that part of the cavern was missing. Daylight from outside shone in, illuminating the surface of the second unusual thing.

The cavern was filled with water. Right up to the level of the small opening they were looking through – a good 40 feet higher than sea level. A realisation suddenly hit Lando.

"Clever" he said. Ah-Mazia turned to look at him as he continued. "One of the guards who used to be on my team was a war wizard, spent most of his career guarding the Arcane University. He told me that recently there's been a major breakthrough in the art of Alteration – mages particularly skilled in the discipline have learnt how to physically change the form of any inanimate material into, well, anything they want, if they have the knowledge to do it…"

"I see where this is going…" Ah-Mazia cottoned on.

"Yes, they must have got a mage to literally turn the roof of that cavern into water, thus making Wolverine Hall collapse"

They both stood silent for a few seconds.

"Anyway" Lando said. "I'm heading to Tel Mora to go and find Alaina, you coming?"


	3. ShadowRunner

**Chapter 3 – The Shadow-Runner**

"Lando, anyone who can launch attacks on three Imperial strongholds at the same time, let alone with gunpowder, has got help coming in from somewhere"

Ah-Mazia and Lando were walking towards Sadrith Mora docks, talking about the Meric Liberation Front.

"Who would back terrorists though?" Lando asked.

"I think it's either the Cammona Tong or House Telvanni, or perhaps both. You know what their attitudes towards outlanders, and the Empire, are like – they'll jump at the chance to back anything favouring Dunmer over other races. It could be the Ashlanders but they don't really have the resources…"

"Hey, look, it's Alaina!" Lando said, pointing towards the docks. The pair walked over to greet her.

"What are you doing here?" Lando asked.

"I wanted to see how you were going to get to Tel Mora with no money for the boat trip!" Alaina laughed briefly, then stopped, looking into Lando's eyes. "And I wanted to know if you were OK"

"We're fine" Lando said as the three of them walked towards a boat. "We've just been trying to work out who, if anyone, is backing these guys"

"Cammona Tong? It wouldn't surprise me if they _were _the Cammona Tong, just using a different name…"

_Tel Mora, later that day_

Lando, Alaina and Ah-Mazia walked up the steps from the docks into Tel Mora. The town was an amazing sight – the semi-organic, mushroom-like central tower protruding from the rocky shoreline of the island, with the small pod-like buildings that made up the rest of the town surrounding it, all connected by spiralling green pathways.

Ah-Mazia seemed to be looking around nervously as the three of them walked up some small steps to a door. Alaina produced a key, unlocked the door and swung it open.

"Here we go, home sweet home" she said as they all walked in.

Lando was taken aback by the building. The first thing he noticed was that it was significantly bigger inside than its external dimensions would suggest – the Telvanni wizards really were capable of anything. The lower floor of the house seemed to be Alaina's workshop – a bench covered in alchemy equipment, piles of ingredients, boxes filled with presumably even more equipments, and open books containing formulas and recipes. A large bookshelf took up one corner of the room, completely filled with yet more books on the arts of magic and alchemy. A small stove, sink, cupboard and table were squeezed into a corner, and a staircase led up to Alaina's bedroom.

"You looked a bit nervous out there, mate" Lando said as he turned to face Ah-Mazia.

Ah-Mazia looked at the floor. "There's something you should know. I have a bounty on my head for murder…"

Lando and Alaina both looked at him, shocked.

"You must understand, I'm innocent!" he said. "I've been framed. That Dunmer who came into the inn in Suran. He killed my brother and tried to frame me"

"He… What?" Alaina said, dumbfounded. Ah-Mazia handed her the bloodstained dagger from his belt.

"Look" he said. "See how dark the blood is?"

Alaina retched as he thrust the dagger under her eyes.

"Argonian blood. But look here" He pointed at the handle of the dagger. A few drops of lighter-coloured blood had dried on the handle. "Dunmer blood, yes?"

Alaina nodded.

"And this proves your innocence, does it?" Lando said impatiently.

"Why did he kill your brother?" Alaina asked, sitting down on a stool in her small kitchen area.

"He's a Fighter's Guild operative intent on wiping out the Thieves Guild…"

Ah-Mazia stopped and looked at Alaina and Lando. Once again, he realised the error of what he said.

_Pelagiad, 5 years earlier_

Ah-Mazia laughed as him and his brother, Ah-Meekia, ran as fast as they could across the undulating grasslands. He was slowly falling behind, thanks to the weight of the mace he was carrying, but they were still far ahead of the guards, and he knew Ah-Meekia was watching his back.

"Not far now, brother!" Ah-Meekia shouted from ahead of him. Their destination was a cave called Mannamu a short distance south of where they were. Some quite unsavoury characters had previously populated it, but the two brothers had cleared out the previous occupants and had made the cave their own.

Ah-Mazia looked behind him. He could see two Imperial guards catching up, less than 50 metres away now. The mace in his bag weighed a ton, but it was worth it. An easy theft. The foolish guard captain had left it on his table in the inn while he went to the bar. It was made from ebony, a powerful and rare weapon, worth an absolute fortune. Something the armoury in Balmora, their eventual destination, would pay a handsome price for.

Ah-Meekia stopped and readied his crossbow, then fired towards the guards. It looked like a random shot, but it was in fact perfectly aimed. The bolt slammed into a tree as the two guards ran past it, puncturing straight through the tree. A warning shot. The message – don't get any closer or the same thing will happen to you.

The pair soon reached the entrance to the cave and ran inside. They knew the guards would be following them, but they had one more trick up their sleeve. A short distance into the cave, a small tunnel led down from the main cave, rapidly disappearing into black, inky water. The Thieves' Guild had made one substantial modification to this cave – they had bored a small pipe from the lower parts of the cave to the sea, so it had eventually filled up with water. Any Argonian members of the Thieves' Guild could now use it as a very effective safe house, since chances are the guards would not be able to follow them.

The two brothers heard the guards running into the cave as they dived into the water and swam downwards with powerful strokes. With the aid of Night-Eye potions they followed the tunnel down a gentle incline before it reached an enormous cavern. Towards the roof of this cavern, the surface of the water was visible and a small collection of wooden platforms had been built just above the surface. The safe house.

Ah-Mazia broke the surface first. He threw the bag containing the mace out of the water onto one of the small pontoons then climbed out. His brother followed.

"Strange, Jee-Na isn't here" Ah-Meekia said. "Bet you're a bit disappointed, aren't you, brother? You're getting quite fond of her!"

"Shut it!" Ah-Mazia snapped. "I thought On-Staya was supposed to be here as well"

"Who knows" Ah-Meekia said. He walked over to a barrel which had been partially submerged in the water, which contained a pale blue crystal. Nobody was sure how, but a mage had created this crystal for them. It was used to detect if water breathing potions had been used in the water – if anyone was using them, small traces of the potion would be present in the water, and these would change the colour of the crystal to red – a good way of checking if any unwanted visitors had been in the cave. It was still blue. "Let's get the stove lit up, I'm hungry after that…"

He was interrupted by the sound of Ah-Mazia retching loudly. He turned to see his brother by a stack of crates in the corner of one of the platforms which was flush with the wall, keeled over with one hand over his mouth.

"What is it, brother?" Ah-Meekia said, running over. Ah-Mazia pointed into a small gap between the crates and the wall. Ah-Meekia peered over.

"Oh my… On-Staya!"

The Argonian woman who was the guard, caretaker and spiritual owner of this small base was lying dead, crumpled in the corner. Not just dead, but horribly disfigured. Massive blade wounds covered her entire body, her neck had been gruesomely snapped and her tail was literally hanging to her body by a thread.

"Who could have done this?" Ah-Meekia said, staring at the dead body in apoplectic horror.

"_Run! For the love of the Nine, run!"_ A female voice came thundering out of a small tunnel that led away from the collection of platforms. They recognised it immediately – it was Jee-Na, another regular visitor to the safe house. The young Argonian woman came bolting out of the tunnel, dived into the water and disappeared into the murky depths.

"Ready arms!" Ah-Meekia shouted as he drew his crossbow. Ah-Mazia unsheathed his bow and nocked an arrow.

A Dunmer man ran out of the tunnel, wielding an enormous sword. Ah-Mazia fired an arrow at him – the arrow made contact in the man's chest but simply bounced off his heavy armour. Ah-Meekia fired his crossbow – the bolt soared across the short distance between him and the Dunmer… then continued straight past him into the tunnel beyond. He couldn't believe it. He'd missed!

"Daggers!" Ah-Mazia shouted. He threw his bow to the ground and drew a dagger from his belt. Ah-Meekia did the same as the Dunmer lunged at him, tackling him to the ground and knocking the dagger out of his hand. Ah-Mazia sprinted towards his now-defenceless brother.

But he didn't get there quick enough. With one powerful arm, the Dunmer had pinned Ah-Meekia to the ground, as he raised the other, holding a glass dagger. In a last-ditch effort, Ah-Meekia threw one of his arms up and sunk his claws into the Dunmer's wrist, causing him to yell out in pain as blood poured out of his wrist, all over the hand that was clutching the dagger. In a fit of rage, he plunged the dagger as hard as he could into Ah-Meekia's heart.

"No!" Ah-Mazia shouted. He lunged forwards at the Dunmer as he stood up.

Everything went into slow-motion as adrenaline took control. As he fell through the air towards the Dunmer, everything came into focus. Ah-Mazia could see a small gap in the Dunmer's armour, between the bracer and gauntlet of his left arm. As quick as a flash, Ah-Mazia stabbed his dagger into the gap. The Dunmer reeled back in pain, but as Ah-Mazia got to his feet, he felt the Dunmer's gauntleted fist collide with his face with shocking force. His head felt like it was going to burst. Everything became a blur as he staggered backwards.

Things started coming back into focus.

He could see the Dunmer standing in front of him, blood pouring from the two flesh wounds inflicted by the two brothers.

But he could also see a pale green light, surrounding the Dunmer's hands.

_Please, no!_

It was too late. The paralysis spell took effect. Ah-Mazia simply froze where he stood. He couldn't move a muscle.

He felt the Dunmer bind his wrists and ankles with tough rope.

"You're coming with me now, lizard!"

_Balmora, 4 years later_

Shadow-Runner ran swiftly and light-footedly across the rooftops of Balmora, his black robe and hood all but obscuring him against the darkness. Soon he found the building he was looking for. He tried the door that led down from the roof. Locked. He carefully began to manipulate it with his lockpick, and soon it yielded. As slowly and as silently as he could, he opened the door and crept in.

He crept down the stairs, unsheathed his dagger.

He saw his target, sitting at a table, eating.

His target saw him, and leapt up out of his seat.

"You…"

"You killed my brother" Shadow-Runner whispered menacingly. "And now I'm going to kill you"

"Are you really?" the man said, glancing over Shadow-Runner's shoulder.

Shadow-Runner spun round.

Three guards stood at the front door of the house.

"Everyone's on my side in this town, lizard" the man said. "Today, when you bought that dagger and robe from the trader. He knew you were after me. He tipped us off. It was only a matter of time before you turned up."

"Ah-Mazia, you are wanted for the murder of your brother, Ah-Meekia" one of the guards said to him. He could not believe what he was hearing. "Either pay 1000 gold coins or come with us"

Shadow-Runner hurled himself towards the guards, spinning in mid-air to avoid their swords as they unsheathed them. His shoulder collided with one of the guards, knocking him to the ground. Seizing the opportunity, Shadow-Runner leapt over the guard and ran. He didn't know where to, where he could go that would be safe. He just ran.

_Tel Mora, the present day_

"Guards!" Lando whispered loudly as he looked out the window.

Ah-Mazia ran over to look. Eight guards were disembarking a boat at the docks. One walked up to a sailor. With his trained vision, Ah-Mazia could read the guard's lips.

"Have you seen an Argonian arrive in this town today?"

"I'm going!" Ah-Mazia said. He turned to Lando. "I hope we meet again someday, friend"

"No way" Lando replied. "I'm coming with you!"

Ah-Mazia and Alaina both looked at him, dumbfounded.

"We're a team" Lando said. "Alaina, are you in?"

Alaina thought to herself. Thought of the past few days' events – Lando rescuing her from the bandits. The attack on Wolverine Hall, and Lando and Ah-Mazia's fight against the terrorists. Ah-Mazia's story.

"I'm in" Alaina said. "I need to mix some potions to get us out of here"

"We don't have time!" Lando snapped. But Alaina was already over by a cupboard. She produced two bottles, tipped their contents into a pestle and stirred them roughly with her hand.

"Drink it, quickly!" Alaina ordered. "Invisibility potion and water-walking potion. Once we drink it we've got a minute to get to the mainland! Head across the water to Vos then head south a hundred yards or so, there's a huge tree there, and we'll regroup there"

The three of them all took large gulps of the liquid from the pestle. Lando was last to drink, and was treated to a strange sight. As soon as Alaina and Ah-Mazia drank the liquid they simply disappeared from sight.

He could see the front door of the house open. Alaina and Ah-Mazia must have left. He bolted out the door and ran towards the docks. It was possibly the strangest experience of his life – he ran past the platoon of guards and they completely ignored him as if he wasn't there. He wasn't.

Even stranger was when he leapt into the sea and his feet landed on the surface of the water as if it was solid ground.

------------

Lando reached the tree, sat down by it and waited.

Ah-Mazia re-appeared first, shortly followed by Alaina. Lando held his hands out in front of his face, and after a few seconds he saw them re-appear.

"Now what?" he said, getting to his feet.

"We can either lie low here for a while or try to cross Molag Amur and the Ashlands, try and get to Redoran or Hlaalu territory, it might be a bit safer there" Alaina replied.

"It'd be nicer to get to Imperial territory" Lando said. "Besides, the Imperial Legion probably needs all the help they can get after that attack on Wolverine Hall"

"I don't fancy the Ashlands right now" Ah-Mazia said. "It's breeding time for the Cliff Racers, it'll be swarming with them!"

"Perhaps we should set up camp here then, at least until tomorrow" Alaina said.

"Right. Ah-Mazia, now we've got time…" Lando said as he turned to face Ah-Mazia. "This fellow who's after you. Have you ever noticed that you don't get many Dunmer in the Fighters' Guild?"

Ah-Mazia paused, then nodded.

"Are you sure he's not just using the Fighters' Guild thing as a cover? It's just a thought"

"He could be. There's something else that happened to me that could be relevant to whatever's going on" Ah-Mazia replied. "I was walking between Balmora and Seyda Neen once, it was at a point in my life when I didn't have enough money for the silt strider, and I found a small camp in one of the Foyadas on the way. There were four Dunmer men there. They managed to capture me, but I escaped"

"How?" Lando interrupted.

"They paralysed me with a spell, but it must have worn off quicker than they expected, because I was unattended when it wore off, so I just ran. They couldn't catch up with me. But while I was being held in one of their tents I saw something – gunpowder. Barrels of the stuff. I ran to Fort Moonmoth and informed the guards – they launched an attack on the camp, wiped it out and seized the gunpowder. But none of the Dunmer were there when we got back to the camp – they had just vanished. And I'm sure one of them was the man who killed my brother"

"The Meric Liberation Front…" Alaina said to herself.

"That's why that guy's after you, then" Lando said. "You know too much. Anyway, if we're going to camp here tonight, we're going to need food…" Lando gave a subtle nod at Ah-Mazia.

"I'll go and see what I can hunt" Ah-Mazia said, tapping his bow with his hand. "Nice bit of Nix-hound, perhaps. If I'm not back in an hour, come and look for me"

With that, Ah-Mazia walked briskly into the undulating grasslands of the Grazelands. Once he was out of sight, Lando sat down next to Alaina.

"Alaina, come back to Cyrodiil with me" he said to her. Alaina looked at him and smiled.

"Heading back already, are you?" she said.

"Yes, I don't know what in Oblivion's going on on this island at the moment. Terrorism, possible corruption in the Great Houses, I want to get back to green and pleasant Cyrodiil, and I want you to come back with me"

"Really?"

"Think about it. Your homeland. Peace. You could still do your alchemy there, and think of all the new plants you'll have to get ingredients from"

Alaina was moved by the offer. She placed her arm around Lando and leaned her head against his chest. Lando put his hand on Alaina's shoulder and held her close to his body.

"I'd love to go" Alaina said. "But what about Ah-Mazia? Are we just going to leave him here?"

"We'll take him with us on the journey but we'll probably part ways in Cyrodiil. Anyway, I was kind of hoping you'd know how to get to Cyrodiil from here because I don't…"

"We'll need to get a boat from Vos to one of the big ports, like Ebonheart or Sadrith Mora, then we can get to the mainland, then go by caravan to Cyrodiil. I think there's a caravan route from Mournhold direct to Cheydinhal in Cyrodiil"

-------

Half an hour later, Ah-Mazia returned, dragging a dead Nix-Hound behind him.

"Come on, mate, we're off to Cyrodiil" Lando said, standing up.

Ah-Mazia threw the hound to the ground angrily. "Couldn't you have told me that earlier?"


	4. Trouble At Sea

**Chapter 4 – Trouble At Sea**

Lando, Ah-Mazia and Alaina walked the short distance from the tavern in Ebonheart to the docks, and boarded the large ferry that was heading for the mainland. Ah-Mazia handed 50 gold coins to the captain, and Alaina handed 100, to pay for both her and Lando.

"You owe me for that" Alaina said to Lando.

"I will. I'm going to take you out on the best night you've ever had in the Imperial City when we get back to Cyrodiil!"

Alaina leaned over and kissed Lando on the cheek. "I can't wait"

_3 hours later_

The captain stood, bored out of his mind, at the helm of the ship behind the wheel. Still 4 hours to go across the featureless ocean before they reached the mainland.

"Turn this ship around!" a voice whispered from behind him.

"Who's that?" the captain said nonchalantly.

Suddenly, he felt the prick of a blade being held against his cheek.

"Turn this boat around!" the voice said again. The captain reached up and forced the arm holding the dagger away from his face, and quickly spun round. The arm belonged to a figure wearing armour and a mask obscuring his face.

"If you move again I'll kill you. Turn the ship around" the man said.

"Relax, brother, I just wanted to see who you were"

Begrudgingly, the captain began to turn the wheel to port.

On the rear deck of the ship, Lando felt the sudden change of direction.

"What's this joker playing at?" he said in an annoyed tone. "He's turning the ship around!" He walked towards the forward deck, around the captain's quarters to the helm.

He saw the armoured figure holding the captain at knife-point, but before he had time to react he felt a strong pair of arms grab him from behind. As quick as a flash, he leapt backwards, crushing his attacker against the walls of the captain's quarters and causing them to relieve their grip. As soon as his arms were free, Lando drew his sword, and without hesitation spun round and plunged it into his attacker's chest. The man was wearing the same armour and mask as the man holding the captain, who saw this and plunged his dagger into the captain's throat. The captain fell to the ground, lifeless. His killer dropped the dagger and drew a longsword from his belt.

"Come on then!" Lando shouted, running forwards towards the man. They both swung their swords, which met in mid-air. Lando, the stronger of the two men, forced the man's sword downwards then immediately swung as hard as he could, chopping the man's head clean off.

Lando sprinted back to the rear deck.

"We're under attack!" he shouted. "They've killed the captain! At arms!"

With that, four more men, all Dunmer, came bursting out of the hatch that led to the lower deck, all brandishing swords. Another two ran out of the captain's quarters. Lando realised he was trapped between the two groups.

"Ah-Mazia, I could use some help here!" he shouted. Ah-Mazia, who was standing at the rear of the deck, responded immediately – as quick as a flash, he drew his bow and skilfully placed an arrow straight into the temple of one of the attackers. This temporarily distracted his comrades, and Lando used the opportunity to sink his sword between the shoulder-blades of another of the Dunmer. As he withdrew the blade he threw himself backwards, knocking another Dunmer to the ground.

Ah-Mazia sprinted towards the fight and leapt into the air, grabbing on to the mast and quickly climbing up it, making for the crow's nest in order to get clearer shots at the attackers.

Lando's priority was to protect Alaina. There were two men between him and Alaina – he immediately swung his sword at one of them, engaging him in combat. They parried backwards and forwards, skilfully blocking each other's moves. Then Lando saw what he had been dreading – the other Dunmer began to run towards Alaina.

He had to get to her.

He swung his sword sharply to the left. As he expected, his foe blocked the blow, but Lando had put such force behind it that the Dunmer temporarily lost his balance. Lando seized the opportunity and shoulder-barged him to the ground. He ran at the man who was about to attack Alaina…

…when the Dunmer fell backwards towards him, a glistening silver throwing star embedded in his forehead.

In front of him, Lando saw Alaina reach into a concealed pocket in the front of her robe and pull out another throwing star. He ran over to her, constantly watching his back.

"Where did you learn how to do that?" he shouted.

"I'll tell you later!" she replied.

"Is there anyone on this damn island who doesn't have a mysterious past?"

The three remaining Dunmer all charged towards Lando and Alaina. Alaina hurled a throwing star at one of them, skilfully placing the star in the small eye-hole in the man's mask. There was a gruesome squelch as two arms of the star embedded in the Dunmer's eyes – he fell to the ground screaming, blood pouring out of the eye-hole.

The second Dunmer was hit from behind by an arrow from Ah-Mazia, who was up in the crow's nest. The third dropped his sword, and raised his arms to surrender.

"Keep him alive" Alaina said. "Make him drink this" She handed a small glass bottle of a pale green liquid to Lando.

"We make a pretty good team, don't we?" Lando said as he walked over to the surrendered Dunmer. Without offering any resistance, he took the bottle from Lando's hands and drank the contents. A second later he fell to the ground, unconscious.

Ah-Mazia climbed down from the crow's nest. "There could be more below deck" he said. "We'd better go and check it out"

Suddenly, they heard a voice.

"I come in peace!"

It came from the hatch that led below decks. Slowly, a Dunmer man who must have been at least 50 years old climbed up from the hatch and stood on the decks. He was wearing armour, carrying a bloodstained sword and had a bow slung over his back.

Alaina gasped in shock.

"Swordsman! Is that you?" she said. The man nodded.

"It's nice to see you again, dear girl" he replied. Alaina ran forward and embraced him.

"I thought you were dead!"

"I must say I'm slightly offended!" Swordsman laughed. "You of all people should know that it'll take more than a few necromancers to get rid of me!"

"Hang on" Lando butted in. "Can someone explain?"

"I'm Morvyn Amandren, war wizard of the Mages' Guild, but you can call me Swordsman"

"Lando Armitage, former Imperial guard" Lando shook hands with the Dunmer. "Any idea who these attackers are?"

"Yes, it's the Meric Liberation Front" Swordsman said. "For some reason they don't want this ship to leave Vvardenfell. I was in Ebonheart and saw them all boarding the ship. I presumed they were soldiers but I thought I'd better make sure – turns out they were terrorists. There's been a bit of a fight below decks but they're all dead now. So, what are you people heading to the mainland for?"

"We're just getting out of here" Lando said as he gazed across the sea. "We've witnessed a terrorist attack, my friend Ah-Mazia here has been framed for murder, and I'm from Cyrodiil but a few days ago I just appeared in a field near Pelagiad. I still have no idea how I got there"

"Very strange" Swordsman said. "Anyway, I'm going to steer this ship back to Ebonheart, we should be back in a couple of hours. What's happened on this ship needs to be reported. It seems someone didn't want this ship to reach the mainland. Then I'm heading to Vivec, I'm meeting an expert in Destruction"

Swordsman walked briskly to the helm of the ship, as Lando turned to face Alaina.

"You obviously know this man, can we trust him?" he asked. Alaina nodded.

"He's Mages' Guild to the heart, he's been with them for around 40 years" she replied.

"And how do you know him? And why did you think he was dead?"

"He was reported dead a few years ago. They said they found his body in the Ashlands, killed by bandits. As for how I know him, it's a good story…"


	5. Swordsman

**Chapter 5 - Swordsman**

_15 years earlier, near Molag Mar_

Swordsman heard a distant scream slice through the air. He turned to face Commander Dren – he had obviously heard the sound too.

"Swordsman, go and investigate" Commander Dren said. "I would send the whole team but we absolutely have to find this Dwemer weapons factory. I'm sure you're more than capable of handling yourself, anyway"

Swordsman nodded. "If I'm not back in Vivec in three days' time something bad's happened. Godspeed, Commander"

"And you, Swordsman"

Swordsman peeled off from the team of 8 battlemages and ran across the rugged hills in the direction the scream had come from. He ran over a crest, where the hillside plunged downwards into a steep valley. At the bottom of the valley was a scene of what must have been absolute chaos.

Dead bodies littered the valley floor, some belonging to Imperial guards, and some belonging to several Dunmer and Bosmer all wearing armour and black helmets which almost totally obscured their faces. And standing in the middle of them, looking absolutely petrified, was a 10-year-old girl. Swordsman leapt from the top of the hill and slid down the hillside, running over to the girl. As he got closer she shied away from him.

"Don't worry, little girl, I'm not going to hurt you" he said comfortingly. "Can you tell me what happened here?"

"They took my father!" she sobbed.

"Who did?"

"The men with the black helmets!"

"Right. Do you know where they took him?"

The little girl pointed a short distance down the valley to a small cave opening which had been boarded up roughly with several pieces of wood.

Swordsman placed his hands on the little girl's shoulders.

"I'm going to try and get your father back"

With that, he ran towards the cave entrance and ripped the panels of wood off. He placed his hands together and concentrated hard – in an instant the dark tunnel became illuminated by the soft blue glow of his Night-Eye spell. He drew his sword and ran into the tunnel.

The narrow tunnel soon came to a point overlooking an enormous cavern, with a twisting staircase carved into the rock leading from the mouth of the tunnel to the floor of the cavern. Several men wearing the same armour and black helmets as he had seen outside were standing on the cavern floor. But there were several other men.

An Imperial man, being restrained by two of the other men.

An elderly Dunmer wearing a dark green robe.

Two Argonians, chained to a post.

The Imperial man was almost certainly the young girl's father.

Swordsman could hear them talking.

"What I have done is enchanted this man's body with what is effectively a bomb" the elderly Dunmer was saying. "Once I cast the trigger spell, he will explode. This, brothers, is the perfect weapon. Nobody will know what could cause a man to simply explode. Nobody knows what we are doing with the art of Destruction down here. Now, paralyse him and stand well back"

One of the men restraining the girl's father reached into a sack on the floor, and produced a metal pin and a small bottle. He dipped the pin into the bottle's contents, then stabbed it into the prisoner's neck. He let out a scream of pain, and struggled, but he was restrained by the strong grip of the two armoured men. Within seconds, the man was frozen in position, paralysed.

Everybody ran to the edges of the cavern.

Swordsman knew what was coming. He had to act fast. Raising his hands, he hurled a fireball down into the cavern. The robed Dunmer heard the roar of the approaching fireball and managed to avoid the impact.

"Kill him!" the Dunmer shouted. He raised his hand above his head, and an ominous red glow bathed the bodies of both him and the prisoner.

Then, almost without warning, the prisoner simply exploded. With enormous force. The ground shook and everyone in the cavern was thrown to the ground. Swordsman leapt up and charged towards the mage. But he was too late. In a flash of brilliant white light, the mage simply vanished into thin air. Swordsman knew the spell.

Almsivi intervention.

He would have been transported all the way back to Vivec. Swordsman had no hope of catching him. He thought fast.

He had to get out of the cave, quickly. That was a given. There were 8 armed men in here who were now all giving chase.

He had to find the little girl again, but then what? Try and find the rest of the battlemages? They could be anywhere by now. He would have to try and get her to safety. He needed to buy some time.

Running back towards the stairs as fast as he could, Swordsman turned round and focused his eyesight on the ground in front of him. As he did so, he uttered an incantation to himself.

In a flash of light, a Golden Saint appeared in front of Swordsman. It ran towards the nearest of the Dunmer soldiers, and with an almighty swing of its fist, hit the soldier's head so hard it snapped gruesomely backwards at almost 90 degrees. The remaining Dunmer soldiers panicked. Swordsman ran for his life.

The girl was sitting on the ground exactly where Swordsman had left her. He walked over, exhausted and sat down next to her.

"What's your name, little girl?" he said to her.

"Alaina" she replied softly.

"I'm Morvyn, but you can call me Swordsman"

"Did you find my father?"

Swordsman's heart sank. Possibly the worst part of being any form of fighter was having to tell someone that a loved one had been killed.

"No" he said. "I couldn't find him"

The girl began to cry.

"Come with me, Alaina. I'm going to make sure you're safe. Come with me back to the Mages' Guild"

_Vivec Guild of Mages, the present day_

Swordsman, Lando, Alaina and Ah-Mazia all walked down the stairs into the main area of the Guildhall. A Breton woman approached Swordsman immediately.

"Swordsman?" she said, extending her hand. "Delphine Jend, sorry it's taken me so long to get here"

"Not a problem, Delphine, it's a long journey from Cyrodiil to here" Swordsman replied, shaking Delphine's hand.

"You said you had something you wanted me to look at?"

Swordsman nodded and produced a rolled-up scroll from a small bag he was carrying. He handed it to Delphine, who began to read it.

Lando tapped Alaina on the shoulder. "Me and Ah-Mazia both need to get our weapons repaired, so we're going to the smithy. We'll be back soon"

Alaina kissed Lando on the cheek. "OK, see you later"

"What do you make of this Swordsman, then?" Ah-Mazia said to Lando as they walked back up the wide staircase. "Do you trust him?"

Lando nodded. "Yes. And I don't think our meeting was co-incidence either. I think he's another piece in the puzzle that the terrorists have presented us with"

"How do you mean?"

"Well, remember the story Alaina told us on the ship? The men from the cave. The way he described them, they sounded a lot like the terrorists. And what he saw, them making the prisoner explode…"

"What do you think that was? I've never heard of a spell like that before"

"Well, let's hope this expert in Destruction has…"

Delphine handed the scroll back to Swordsman.

"What do you think?" Swordsman said.

"I think it's game over for whoever gets in the way of that spell" Delphine replied.

"What is it?" Alaina said. "What's going on?"

"It seems someone's created a very powerful spell" Delphine said as she turned to Alaina. "It basically involves enchanting someone's body with a spell that causes an enormous explosion, then another spell which triggers the explosion"

"It's necromancy" Swordsman spat. "Pure evil"

"What's more worrying is how it can be used" Delphine continued. "People can simply be turned into walking bombs. Thankfully, the spell has its flaws"

"Like what?" Alaina said.

"Swordsman's done a lot of research into it, and to me it all looks sound. The main flaw is how long it takes to implement the spell. Enchanting a body with the spell is such a complex process it can take several days. Then the trigger spell takes a few minutes to cast if the caster can't see the victim. If they can see them, it'll still take about 30 seconds"

"Swordsman, I have a few questions, if I may" Delphine continued. Swordsman nodded.

"Firstly, what happened to you? Why were you reported as dead? Secondly, why do you think there is a definite terror threat?"

_Caldera Guild of Mages, three years earlier_

Swordsman staggered up the rickety staircase towards his bedroom. He could still hear the party going on downstairs, but he knew when enough was enough. He had a busy day of research ahead of him the next day.

He fumbled with the lock on the door. After countless drinks he was struggling to get the key in the hole. Eventually the door yielded and he stumbled clumsily into his room.

As he turned round to shut the door, he heard someone coming up the stairs. He suddenly became more alert. There were only two other bedrooms on this floor. The occupant of one of them had gone to bed, and the other was a battlemage currently miles away in Black Marsh, in the town of Thorn, attending a summit on guerrilla warfare.

The figure reached the top of the stairs and Swordsman relaxed. It was a Dunmer woman in her early twenties who Swordsman had been talking to for most of the party. They had been getting on well but he could not for the life of him remember her name. She saw him and smiled sweetly at him.

"Not going to bed already, are you?"

"Not now!" Swordsman said in a slurred voice. The woman walked over towards him. He held the door open and let her into his room. She stepped in, then Swordsman closed the door. The woman faced away from Swordsman, and let her dress fall to the ground. Swordsman's eyes widened in admiration as the woman extinguished the small candle that was lighting the room with her fingers.

In the darkness, Swordsman felt the woman kissing him on the lips. He reached forwards and touched her soft skin, and began pulling her towards the bed.

Pain suddenly shot through his arm.

He could feel blood pouring down his arm from near his shoulder. He could also feel cold steel. A dagger.

Swordsman suddenly became focused again. Reacting quickly, he shoved the woman away from him and cast a light spell. The room lit up as bright as daylight. The woman ran over to the door and threw it open.

"Compromise!" she yelled. No sooner had she done so than two men wielding swords came running up the stairs. Without thinking, Swordsman pulled the dagger from his arm, roaring in pain, and stabbed it between the woman's shoulder blades. She fell to the floor, twitching violently. She was alive, but wouldn't be for long.

Swordsman picked up the small bedside table and threw it through the large window, then leapt out of the hole it had left. He landed clumsily on the ground, feeling immense pain as mud and grit were forced into the wound on his arm. He felt broken glass rip the skin across his back.

Thoughts cascaded through his mind. He had first met the woman at a lecture he was giving at the Arcane University in Cyrodiil about his research into the spell which could cause people to explode. They had spent most of the party this evening talking about it – the woman was allegedly a student specialising in Destruction and was very interested in Swordsman's research. As soon as she had attacked him he had realised what was going on. She was with the terrorists. Swordsman was on the verge of discovering how to resist the spell, so they had ordered her to kill him. And he now knew that there were at least two more with her.

He had no weapons on him. He would have to rely on magic to survive this.

As he picked himself up off the ground, the two men who had run up the stairs came bursting out of the guildhall and descended on him instantly.

Swordsman raised his hands and unleashed a fireball. It found its target, knocking one of the men backwards, but not killing him.

_Concentrate!_

The other man ran at Swordsman and raised his sword. Not missing a beat, Swordsman dived to the ground. The man tripped over him and fell to the ground. Before Swordsman could get up, the other terrorist reached him. Swordsman looked up to see the terrorist standing over him, his blade raised above his head. This was it…

Just as the terrorist was about to plunge his sword into Swordsman, a silver throwing star hit him in the side of the head. Blood exploded from the man's temple as he fell to the ground, lifeless. Swordsman leapt to his feet, grabbed the terrorist's sword, turned round and stabbed it into the other terrorist's neck, who was still lying on the ground. Then, exhausted, he fell down to the floor.

"Swordsman!"

He heard a familiar voice. He turned to face the direction it had come from.

"Alaina! What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry I couldn't get here earlier! The Imperial Legion just raided a terrorist camp and found orders to kill you!"

Swordsman leapt to his feet, and placed his hands on Alaina's shoulders.

"We can't be seen together. They'll think you're involved and they'll kill you too. It's for your own safety. I'm going, it may be many years before you see me again. Oh, and thanks for saving me"


	6. First Revelation

**Chapter 6 – First Revelation**

_Vivec Guild of Mages, the present day_

"I've been living in Solstheim at Raven Rock for the last few years" Swordsman explained. "It was only when I heard of the terrorist attacks that I decided to return to Morrowind. I was on my way to Mournhold, that's why I was on the ship"

As he stopped talking, a young Breton mage walked up to the three of them. They all recognised him as Pierre, the guild hall's porter.

"You may want to see this. Quite interesting" He handed a scroll to Swordsman. It was the day's copy of the Vivec Express, a newspaper which circulated around the city.

Swordsman scanned the scroll.

"It says here that House Telvanni have cancelled all links with the Morag Tong, and allied with the Cammona Tong"

"Interesting" Alaina said. "Maybe the Morag Tong refused a contract that House Telvanni issued?"

"Or Telvanni did something to upset Morag Tong…" Swordsman said.

As they were talking, Lando and Ah-Mazia had re-appeared from the smithy.

"That's good news for me" Ah-Mazia said. "It means that Telvanni can't use Morag Tong to take a writ out against me"

Suddenly, there was an enormous crash from upstairs.

"What was that?" Alaina said.

"It sounded like the door being kicked down!" Swordsman said as he drew his sword. "At arms! Lando, Alaina, come with me! Ah-Mazia, Delphine, cover us!"

Lando drew his sword and Alaina made sure she was holding one of her throwing stars, and the three of them ran up the staircase to the entrance hall of the guildhall. Ah-Mazia and Delphine followed from behind.

They heard a loud 'Clunk!' and a scream from upstairs. Lando recognised the sound instantly.

"Crossbow! We're under attack!" he shouted.

The three of them reached the top of the stairs. No less than eight Telvanni guards were standing in the entrance hall. The dead body of Talihare, the receptionist, lay in a pool of blood behind her desk.

"There he is! Kill him!" one of the guards shouted, pointing at Lando.

"That's not good…" Lando said to himself.

"Fan out! Don't leave any of them alive! Covering fire! Go, go, go!" Swordsman shouted as he leapt out into the hall, descending his blade on one of the guards. The guard didn't stand a chance.

Lando followed Swordsman out into the hall, Alaina close behind him. The guards all descended on them immediately. One ran towards Lando, swinging an enormous sword. Lando leapt backwards to avoid the blow, and found himself trapped in the corner of the room. He could see a crossbow slung over the guard's back, and behind the guard, two more running towards him.

"Alaina! I could use some help here!" he shouted as he swung his sword to block another blow from the guard.

"I'm on it!" he heard Alaina reply.

"Retreat! Retreat!" Swordsman was shouting. "We can defend ourselves easier downstairs!"

"Kill them all!" one of the guards shouted. Everything was happening at once. Swordsman, Ah-Mazia and Delphine ran back down the stairs – Delphine first, Ah-Mazia back-pedalling and firing arrows frantically at the four guards who were pursuing them, and Swordsman bringing up the rear, engaged in a swordfight with one of the guards.

Lando skilfully blocked everything his opponent could throw at him. But he could still see two more guards running towards him.

Then, Alaina ran in front of him, and with a flick of her wrists she threw a throwing star from each hand. Each star found its target perfectly, slamming into their targets' foreheads, sending them flying backwards like perfect mirror images of each other.

The distraction was what Lando needed. The guard momentarily stopped his attack as he heard his two comrades being killed. Lando swung his sword horizontally with all his might. It simply sliced through the guard's neck. Alaina retched as the guard's head fell to the floor, followed by his lifeless body.

"You're going to need more firepower!" Lando said to Alaina, taking the crossbow from the guard's back. "Ever used one of these?"

Alaina nodded.

"Excellent. Let's get out of here!"

"What about the others?"

Lando ran down the steps. In the main hall of the guildhall, the battle had bogged down into a stalemate. The Telvanni guards were all wielding either longbows or crossbows, and were entrenched the other side of the hall from Swordsman, Ah-Mazia and Delphine. Everyone was in cover, and no-one dared to make the first move.

"Are you lot after them or me?" Lando yelled. The Telvanni guards all immediately leapt up and ran towards Lando, who sprinted back up the stairs.

"Alaina! Run!" he shouted as he reached the top of the stairs. He saw Alaina was clutching a small scroll which she had taken from one of the dead guards.

"You definitely need to see this later!" she said.

"Yes, that's right, later! Come on!"

The two of them ran out of the guildhall. Three guards still pursued them – one of the original four had been killed by Ah-Mazia in the battle downstairs.

As they ran out into the Foreign Quarter plaza, Lando glanced over his shoulder. Behind the guards, he could see Ah-Mazia and Swordsman.

"Let's take them!" Lando said to Alaina. Alaina nodded, and in one swift movement she spun round, raised the crossbow and fired. The bolt slammed into the chest of one of the guards, knocking him flying. Ah-Mazia saw what was happening immediately, and fired an arrow from his bow. His immaculate aim sent the arrow straight into the top of another guard's spinal column, killing him instantly.

The third guard was helpless, completely surrounded.

"Lay down your arms!" Lando ordered.

"Never!" the guard said, dropping his bow and unsheathing a dagger from his belt. Before anyone could stop him, he plunged the dagger into his own heart and dropped to the ground, dead.

Silence fell over the plaza. Lando snatched the scroll from Alaina and unrolled it.

"Oh, please, no…"

_Concerning the writ in Vivec,_

_We have recently acquired a shipment of the armour worn by the Telvanni guards. Not only will this enable the contract be completed with ease, but will incriminate the Telvanni which will be very beneficial indeed. Make sure all twelve members of the operation team are aware of this._

_Remember, Lando Armitage must be killed at all costs._

Underneath the text was a stamp which Lando recognised as the logo of the Morag Tong. The Guild of Assassins.

"We have to get out of here. Far away" Alaina said. "Let's look at the facts. The Morag Tong are after you. Every guard in Vvardenfell's after Ah-Mazia. The terrorists are after Swordsman and probably me as well"

"You can all go" Lando said, rolling the scroll back up. "But I want to know who wants me dead. Whether or not you stay with me is your choice"

"Easier said than done" Swordsman said. "The only person who knows the details of all Morag Tong contracts is Eno Hlaalu, the guildmaster of the Morag Tong. And she's not easy to get to. We need to go somewhere safe to discuss this"

"What do you mean, we?" Lando said.

"Well, I'm going to stay with you" Alaina said, placing her hand around Lando's arm.

"So am I" Swordsman said. "We're in this together"

All three of them looked at Ah-Mazia.

"I would never leave your side, Lando" he said warmly. "We're a team!"

"We can get a boat to Torch, it should be safe there" Swordsman said. "Provided we can get to the pier without more Morag Tong showing up"

"Torch… That's somewhere I've always wanted to see" Lando said. Torch was a recently-built Imperial city, north of Vivec on the shores of Lake Nabia. It was an enormous fortress built in one of the most easily-defendable positions in Vvardenfell – attackers either had to attack from the shores of the lake or make a risk-laden journey for days on end through the Ashlands to approach Torch from the north or east.

"Guards! Telvanni! Down on the lower walkways, heading up here!" Ah-Mazia shouted. He was standing outside the Plaza, on the walkway which circled the enormous canton. He unsheathed his bow and ran back inside.

"How many?" Swordsman asked.

"Five at least!"

"Then it's actually the guards this time" Swordsman said. "Remember, the scroll said there were twelve members of the Morag Tong team and we've killed eight!"

"They're after me!" Ah-Mazia said.

"Right, let's get out of here" Swordsman said.

"Where's Delphine?" Alaina asked.

"She's fine. Everyone from that guildhall used the portal to travel to Ald-Ruhn then sealed the portal. They'll be safe"

Swordsman ran out of the plaza onto the walkways. Everyone else quickly followed. He pointed off the edge of the walkway, down towards the rolling hills surrounding Vivec, at the Silt Strider port. Three Silt Striders were moored at the port.

"That's our way out. We have to get to there" he said. "Lando, you go on point! I'll watch our backs!"

Lando ran along the walkway, down into the tunnel that led to the next level down. Alaina followed close behind him, Ah-Mazia and Swordsman a short distance behind them.

"Here they come!" Lando shouted. He had caught sight of the guards – 6 of them – running towards him. "Ah-Mazia, hold them off!"

Ah-Mazia nocked an arrow in his bow, carefully took aim and fired. The arrow soared down the tunnel, through the lower exit of the tunnel, across the walkway and straight into the chest of one of the Telvanni guards. The force of the arrow knocked him clean over the edge of the walkway. He screamed all the way until he plunged into the canal below.

The other five guards momentarily distracted, Lando and Alaina bolted out of the tunnel and turned left, so they were running away from the guards. The guards pursued them and, sure enough, found themselves between Lando and Alaina and Swordsman and Ah-Mazia.

"Good thinking" Alaina said.

"Let's take them!" Lando shouted. He brandished his sword in front of him as Alaina readied the crossbow she had taken from one of the Morag Tong assassins.

The five guards ran past the exit to the tunnel, now about 50 yards from Lando and Alaina. One of them was blasted sideways by an arrow from Ah-Mazia. Like the first guard, he was knocked clean off the walkway.

Alaina fired her crossbow at the guards, but missed. As she loaded another bolt into the crossbow, she felt a searing pain suddenly shoot through her leg. She fell to the ground, screaming.

Lando looked down at Alaina's leg and saw an arrow sticking from it. It had hit her from behind. He spun round – more guards were coming, from the opposite end of the walkway.

They were trapped!

Thinking quickly, Lando sheathed his sword and picked Alaina up off the ground, and held her over his shoulder.

"Take a deep breath!" he said to Alaina, wrapping his arms around her and holding her in front of him. With that, he leapt off the walkway, landing on one of the sloping pillars which supported the canton, and slid down towards the sea at blinding speed.

He inhaled deeply just before they hit the water, and he heard Alaina do the same. The pair both plunged into the sea, the icy cold hitting them like a jackhammer. Dragging the wounded Alaina alongside him, he swam across the surface of the water, frequently turning to Alaina to ensure she was still breathing. Soon, they reached the safety of the shoreline.

-------

Swordsman and Ah-Mazia were now trying to hold their ground against no less than ten guards. They were being forced back up the tunnel to the top level of the canton.

"Swordsman!" Ah-Mazia shouted. "Are we closer to Ebonheart or Torch?"

"Ebonheart! Why?"

"Divine Intervention! Get us out of here!"

"We'll just go to Ebonheart, it's a lot safer than here!"

------

Lando and Alaina lay on the shoreline, exhausted. They both saw a bright flash of white light emanating from the top tier of the Foreign Quarter canton, about where the upper entrance to the tunnel was.

"Oh, those fools…" Alaina sighed.

"What?"

"They've used Divine Intervention. It takes you to the nearest Imperial temple. They must have thought they were closest to Torch but they'll have ended up in Ebonheart! We'll have to go there!"

"Then what?"

"Well, we won't be able to get to Torch anymore. There's only one road out of Ebonheart, and that leads right past Vivec so the guards will have that sealed!"

"Where do the ships go from Ebonheart?"

"Molag Mar, Sadrith Mora, or you can get to Hla Oad, onto the route up the Bitter Coast. I wouldn't recommend going to Sadrith Mora now, it's Telvanni through and through. Hold my hand"

Alaina took Lando's hand in hers and began uttering something in the Daedric tongue.

Suddenly, all Lando could see was white. Then he felt a feeling of weightlessness, then all of a sudden he was back on solid ground, his vision returned to normal. He was on a stone floor outside a chapel, surrounded by castle walls. Standing in front of him were Swordsman, Alaina and Ah-Mazia.

"Welcome to Ebonheart" Swordsman said. "That was a close one, wasn't it?"

"You have to teach me that sometime" Lando said, getting to his feet. "What's the plan?"

Everyone fell silent for a few seconds. Then Ah-Mazia spoke.

"We should just leave Morrowind. Head for Cyrodiil, like we originally planned"

"What, and you think we'll be allowed through immigration at the border now?" Swordsman said angrily. "We've killed God knows how many Telvanni guards and you're wanted for murder!"

"We're going to Torch" Lando said. "I don't know how, but we're going"

"If we wait a couple of hours for everything to die down in Vivec," Alaina said, "We could take a boat from here to Vivec then get a Silt Strider to Torch. The mariner and the Silt Strider port in Vivec are right next to each other, we should be able to slip through undetected"


	7. Torch

**Chapter 7 – Torch**

As the Silt Strider moved up the inlet towards Lake Nabia, the might of Torch came into view. An enormous fortress, built from pale grey rock which glittered in the sunlight, almost making it look like silver. A wide moat fed by Lake Nabia surrounded the fortress, and was bridged by an enormous drawbridge. On the lake side of the moat, the drawbridge connected with a white stone arch, on top of which was an immaculate stone carving of Akatosh, his wings outspread and his head raised to the sky. An ebony portcullis, practically indestructible, guarded the enormous archway which led through the walls into Torch city. A stone path led down from the drawbridge to the shore, where the Silt Strider port was located. And in the centre of Torch, a beautiful tower made from white stone stretched towards the skies – it had been designed to resemble White Gold Tower in the Imperial City.

Lando, Alaina, Ah-Mazia and Swordsman all dismounted the Silt Strider, paid their fares and walked up the stone path towards the drawbridge. As they neared the arch, a guard stopped them.

"State your business in Torch please, fellow Imperial" he said to Lando.

"If you must know, the Morag Tong are attempting to execute a writ against me, and my friends here are under threat from a combination of House Telvanni and the Morag Tong. We seek refuge in the city" Lando replied.

"Very well. You have to understand we're on high alert, with the terrorist attacks. We have to be careful who we let into the city" The guard looked at Swordsman, then noticed the amulet around his neck. "Ah, a Battlemage, I see"

Swordsman nodded.

"Do excuse me, but as I said we have to be careful who we let in" the guard said. He turned to face the drawbridge.

"Lower the gate!"

------

Lando, Alaina and Ah-Mazia sat around a table in a large inn, The Nabia View, which they had found in Torch. Swordsman began to walk towards the bar.

"It's my round. What does everyone want?" he said to the group.

"Just water for me" Alaina said. "I probably shouldn't drink with this…" She pointed to the partly-healed arrow wound on her leg.

"Sujamma, on the rocks" Ah-Mazia said.

"Lando?"

"I'll have a pint of ale, please! Actually, make that two…"

"Lando, something occurred to me earlier" Alaina said. Lando looked at her inquisitively.

"Don't you think it's a bit of a co-incidence that the Morag Tong come after you just as they break their alliance with House Telvanni? I mean, have you done anything recently that hugely benefits Telvanni?"

Lando shook his head. "Quite the opposite. I still think they're backing the Meric Liberation Front, especially now they've allied with Cammona Tong as well"

"It doesn't make sense though" Alaina said. "If House Telvanni are backing the Front, why did the Front attack a Telvanni town?"

"An Imperial-owned part of a Telvanni town" Ah-Mazia said. "Wolverine Hall isn't owned by Telvanni"

"I think they're in league too" Swordsman said, returning with a tray of drinks. Everyone took their respective drinks off the tray. Lando drank one of his pints of ale in one go. Everyone looked at him in amazement.

"What? I needed a drink! Swordsman, you were saying?"

"Yes. Alaina, what are the Telvanni most known for practicing?"

"Magic, I suppose" Alaina said.

"Right. And remember the terrorists I found in the cave? Remember the spell they had? Remember how Ah-Mazia has been hit by powerful paralysation spells? I mean, when you were captured and taken into slavery you were paralysed for what, three days? Remember how they managed to turn the ground under Wolverine Hall into water?"

Ah-Mazia nodded.

"What I'm saying is to be able to use magic this way, they're either getting help from the Telvanni wizards or the Mages' Guild, and I don't see why an Imperial guild would back an anti-Imperial movement, so that leaves Telvanni"

"It almost makes sense" Lando said. "But it could all be co-incidence…"

"He's right" Alaina said. "There's been so much progress in the research of magic recently, I mean, I've got a friend who's a freelance enchanter who has come up with a way to remove enchantments"

"That's pretty impressive" Swordsman said. "I suppose I just want it all to make sense…"

"_Shadow-Runner!" _a voice suddenly shouted from across the inn. Ah-Mazia recognised it immediately. He leapt to his feet and looked around the room.

"Jee-Na!" He saw his old Thieves' Guild comrade striding towards him. He walked towards her and the pair embraced.

"It's good to see you again, old friend!" Jee-Na said. Ah-Mazia turned to the rest of the group.

"Do you mind if I leave you for a bit? We have a lot of catching up to do"

------

Ten minutes later, Jee-Na and Ah-Mazia were sat at another table on their second round of drinks.

"Listen, Shadow-Runner, it's lucky I found you because there's a big heist I'm about to pull off. It would be good for you to help me"

"What is it?" Ah-Mazia said cautiously.

"Just a bit of intelligence I got from an insider" Jee-Na smiled. "There's a Hlaalu official travelling to Vivec from Balmora, heading for the Arena quarter to be precise, with a large amount of money. He's under armed escort but I think we'll be able to take it"

"Any idea why he's taking so much money to the Arena quarter?" Ah-Mazia said. A spark had just run through his brain.

"I have no idea. The fighting season doesn't start for months. There's no reason for anyone to go there…"

"The Morag Tong headquarters is there!" Ah-Mazia exclaimed. "If he's going there, that means the Morag Tong will be expecting a visitor, so they'll lower the level of security…"

"You're not thinking of taking on the Morag Tong, are you?"

"Lando!" Ah-Mazia shouted. He got up and ran across the room.

------

"The way I see it, this is going to be a two-part mission" Lando said. "I need to get into the Morag Tong headquarters, and someone else needs to stop the Hlaalu official"

"I know a way to stop the official's caravan but I can't do it on my own." Swordsman said. "Alaina, I'll need your help, and your alchemy expertise"

Alaina nodded. "Alright. What do you need?"

"Anything that will burn for a long time. There's a big alchemy store in Torch, you should be able to find something. Basically, we need to create a giant ring of something flammable on the ground, which we can ignite as soon as the official's caravan passes into the ring"

"That leaves me to go with you, then" Ah-Mazia said to Lando.

"I'll consider it an honour" Lando said. "If you don't mind, I want some better armour for this quest, so I'm going to go and look for a smithy"

"I'd better go and find these ingredients" Alaina said, standing up. Her and Lando both walked out of the inn.

"Right, Ah-Mazia" Swordsman said. "Arena Canton. What do you know?"

-------

Alaina turned to speak to Lando as soon as they left the inn. "Lando, I just want to say that even with everything that's happened over the last week, I haven't ever felt truly vulnerable, because you've been there. You've saved my life so many times"

"I think you've saved mine more though" Lando said. He quickly counted on his fingers. "Yes, you have"

"What I'm trying to say is… I never want to leave your side. I want to come with you"

Lando turned to Alaina and the pair embraced, holding each other for a long time.

"You need to go with Swordsman" Lando said. "I trust him with your life, and you should as well" He placed his arms on Alaina's shoulders. "And as soon as I find out why the Morag Tong want me dead, I'll take you back to Cyrodiil with me"

Alaina kissed Lando on the cheek. "I can't wait"

------

"The only way into the Morag Tong headquarters is through a trapdoor in the Arena stores" Ah-Mazia said. "That's it. There's no other way in. I thought about using gunpowder but I don't think that's possible without causing too much structural damage to the Canton. I'd rather not be responsible for destroying the Arena"

"Fair point" Swordsman said. "The Arena's not owned by any of the three houses, it's the Ordinators who guard it. Unless you want to get in even more trouble you can't kill any guards"

"Poisoned arrows?" Ah-Mazia suggested.

"Good idea, paralyse them but don't kill them. We'll have to get Alaina to brew some poison for us. Now…"

Swordsman unrolled a map of Vvardenfell on the table. "We need to find a safe house. Somewhere to retreat to once the mission has been completed"

Ah-Mazia studied the map. "If you and Alaina are in the Fields of Kummu, more than likely near Balmora, and we're in Vivec…" He traced two lines across the map with his finger, both meeting at Torch. "Surely right here is the easiest place?"

"It's too obvious" Swordsman said. "People will have seen us here. You don't know who you can trust at the moment. I say we head for Molag Mar. There's no Great House rulership there, so the Empire are actually the strongest presence, plus it's on the ship and silt strider routes so it's easy to get to"

"Fair enough" Ah-Mazia looked at the map again. "And fairly accessible by foot, as long as you don't mind a few Cliff Racers"

At that moment, Lando and Alaina walked back in, Lando wearing an exquisite suit of Mithril armour, imported from Cyrodiil, and Alaina carrying two small parcels tied up with string, as well as a small box containing a newly-bought pestle and mortar and retort.

"Fire salts and pulped Steel-Blue Entaloma" Alaina said to Swordsman. "If we mix it with oil and water in the right amounts it will be highly flammable"

"Excellent" Swordsman said. He explained the details of the safe house in Molag Mar to them, and had indicated an inn in Molag Mar where they could meet up.

"So, to sum up. Myself and Alaina will prevent the Hlaalu official from reaching Vivec. At the same time, Lando and Ah-Mazia will break into the Morag Tong headquarters, locate Eno Hlaalu and attempt to discover why this writ has been written. After our parts of the mission have been executed we each have 48 hours to make it to Molag Mar. Anyone who doesn't reach Molag Mar by then will be presumed missing or dead, and we will begin looking for them. Is everyone clear?"

Ah-Mazia and Alaina both nodded.

"When do we start?" Lando said.

"We'll strike tomorrow, that's when the official is scheduled to meet the Morag Tong. Plus I think we all need a good night's sleep" Swordsman said.

------

The next morning both pairs were preparing to go their separate ways.

"This could be the last time any of us see each other" Lando said. "So I just want to thank all three of you for your help. We've been an excellent team, and we'd probably all be dead by now if we didn't have each other"

"It's been good knowing you" Swordsman said, shaking Lando's hand warmly. "I do hope we meet again. Godspeed, Lando"

The Dunmer turned to Ah-Mazia. "And Ah-Mazia, without a doubt the finest archer in all Vvardenfell. And the finest Argonian I have ever met"

"It's been an honour knowing you too, Swordsman. And Alaina, I know you haven't always trusted me but I hope you remember me for what I am now, not what I was in the past"

Alaina embraced Ah-Mazia. "You have been a fine companion and a brave warrior, Ah-Mazia, and you have protected me from danger. That is what I will remember you for"

Lastly Lando turned to Alaina and kissed her on the lips. "I am not saying goodbye because I know I will see you again. If anything happens to you, you have my word that I will be there to help you"

He then took Alaina to one side. "If it goes wrong before Ah-Mazia and I attack, come and find us. Almsivi Intervention, get yourself to Vivec and come and find us"


	8. Second Revelation

**Chapter 8 – Second Revelation**

"How do I look?" Lando said, stepping out of the clothier. He was wearing a black robe with a large hood, the same as Ah-Mazia's, over his armour.

"Very stealthy" Ah-Mazia said. They both had to try and avoid being seen by anyone on this mission. Ah-Mazia had concealed his bow inside his robe, but Lando's sword sheath was still around his belt. He knew his first instinct in battle would be to reach for where his sheath normally was, and the last thing he wanted was to grasp at thin air when he needed his sword.

"I suppose we go and wait for the signal now, then" Lando said.

Minutes later, they had climbed onto the roof of the Arena Quarter canton. They were waiting for Swordsman to cast a light spell high up into the night sky, which he would do as soon as they stopped the Hlaalu official's wagon. This would mean the official would be 2 hours away from Vivec, so they would strike in 2 hours' time. Swordsman had even engineered the spell to cause a second flash of light an hour and 40 minutes after the first flash.

"I'll watch for the signal, you watch for guards," Lando said. "You can see in the dark, I don't think I'll have trouble seeing a bright flash of light"

_The Fields of Kummu, Balmora - Suran Road_

Alaina ran swiftly through the grasslands of the Fields of Kummu, carefully pouring a dark red, oily liquid from a large pitcher on the ground as she ran. She was tracing the large circle of the flammable liquid that they were planning to trap the Hlaalu official in. Next to her, Swordsman ran alongside, his bow readied, watching all around for any threats.

Eventually Alaina reached where she had started. The circle was complete.

"Now it's a waiting game," Swordsman said. "I'll watch for them to the west, you watch the east for any other threats"

------

Almost an hour had passed and so far Alaina had seen absolutely nothing. Suddenly, her vision went dark again as her Night-Eye potion wore off. She looked in her bag. No spare potions were left. She would have to go to Swordsman to get some more, which meant dropping her guard. It was dangerous but necessary.

She began to run swiftly in Swordsman's direction. Then she heard a sound. Coming from behind her. A rustling in the grass.

"Swordsman!" she whispered. "I can hear something but I can't see it! You'd better have a look!"

In the darkness she could see Swordsman moving towards her. Suddenly he froze in his tracks.

"Guards!" he whispered loudly. "Quick, follow me!" He began running west, away from the guards. Alaina followed close to him. Soon, she felt her foot land in an oily liquid on the ground – it was the edge of their circle.

"Good thinking" Alaina whispered. Swordsman knelt down to the circle of red liquid and placed his hands in it. A red glow appeared from his hands, and suddenly an almighty jet of flame shot out along the circle in each direction, completing its circumference in an instant. The almighty ring of fire lit the fields up in an ominous red glow. Swordsman pulled his hands out of the fire.

"Didn't that hurt?"

"Yes. Come on, we've got to find the official!" He continued running west, and Alaina followed him.

"There they are!" Swordsman whispered, stopping abruptly. Alaina could still see nothing through the inky darkness.

"For goodness' sake, Swordsman, give me a night-eye potion!"

Alaina felt Swordsman place a bottle in her hand, and she drank its contents immediately. As the Night-Eye took effect, Alaina could see the caravan approaching them, a few hundred yards away.

"Now what?" Alaina whispered.

"We've got no option, we'll have to take it by force! Look, there are only four guards"

Alaina drew a throwing star from her belt, and Swordsman readied his bow.

"Engaging" Swordsman whispered, nocking an arrow in his bow. He took aim and fired. His aim was good, and he took down one of the guards. As soon as the arrow had left his bow, he loaded another one, and brought down another of the guards. The remaining two guards saw him and began to run towards him. One drew a bow and fired an arrow at Swordsman, who dived out of the way in the nick of time. He felt the arrow soar past him, inches from his head. Swordsman responded with another perfectly-placed arrow, killing the guard.

"He's all yours" Swordsman whispered, pointing to the last guard.

"He's out of range" Alaina replied.

"Fair enough" Swordsman fired another arrow, hitting the final guard in the neck and killing him instantly.

"Wait here, watch for the other guards" Swordsman said. "I'll go and get our man"

Swordsman ran briskly to the large caravan. As he neared it and prepared to pull the door open, he heard footfalls from the other side of the caravan. He ran around to investigate…

And found himself face-to-face with four more Hlaalu guards! He bolted back around the wagon but was blocked by more guards. He was trapped.

"Alaina! Run!" he shouted. One of the guards crash-tackled Swordsman to the ground and wrenched his bow out of his hands, and another removed his sword from his sheath. Swordsman raised his hand and a bolt of bright white light shot from it up towards the sky – the signal.

Swordsman saw Alaina running towards him.

"Get out of here, you fool!" he shouted to her. Immediately, two of the guards left the group and began pursuing Alaina.

The Hlaalu official stepped out of the caravan and looked at Swordsman.

"Kill him" he said coldly.

Alaina froze in horror as she saw one of the guards plunge a sword into Swordsman's chest. Swordsman's limp body fell to the ground, lifeless. She felt tears well up in her eyes. Then adrenaline took over.

_Get out of here._

A map of the Ascadian Isles flashed through her mind. She couldn't go east to get to Molag Mar because the road was still on fire. She could go south to Ebonheart then get a boat.

Alaina drew a small glass phial from her belt and hurled it on the ground in front of her. As soon as the bottle smashed, plumes of thick, black smoke began billowing from where it had hit the ground.

"She's a mage! Silence her!" one of the guards shouted. Alaina felt a sharp pain in her thigh, as a small dart hit her. No doubt it was coated in a silencing poison.

She tried to cast her Almsivi Intervention spell to escape to Vivec. Nothing.

The smokescreen now obscuring her from the guards, she ran as fast as she could.

----------

"It's been an hour and 50 minutes" Ah-Mazia said. "Let's do this"

He leapt off the roof down onto the walkway, and Lando followed. There was a guard on the walkway, but he was looking the other way. The pair both swiftly ran around the corner to avoid being sighted, and walked through the large archway into the Arena gallery. It was night time, so the gallery was empty.

Ah-Mazia helped Lando climb onto the wall that surrounded the pit, and he gently lowered himself down into the pit. Ah-Mazia followed quickly behind him.

"Left-hand door" Ah-Mazia said, pointing at two doors next to each other that led out of the pit. "There could be guards. I'll go on point"

Ah-Mazia tried the door, but it was locked. He produced a lockpick and began manipulating the lock – he could only feel one tumbler, indicating it was a very poor-quality lock. Within seconds it yielded and he gradually opened the door. Clear so far.

They followed the corridor down into the lower parts of the Arena canton, containing mostly smithies and training rooms. A single guard stood in the centre of the foyer that led off to the various different parts of the level. Ah-Mazia gently removed an arrow from his quiver. Lando could see that the head was coated in a black, oily liquid – this was the fast-acting paralysation poison Alaina had made.

Ah-Mazia took aim at the guard's thigh and fired. The guard yelled in pain as the arrow hit his thigh, and then he simply froze on the spot and fell clumsily to the ground.

"We need to move quickly" Lando said. "His scream might have alerted other guards"

"Way ahead of you" Ah-Mazia said. "This is the door" He was holding his lockpick again, jiggling it inside the lock of a door marked 'Arena Storage'. The lock snapped loudly and the door swung open.

"Come on" Ah-Mazia whispered. Loading another arrow into his bow, he ran through the doorway. They were in a large room, with two smaller rooms branching off it. Ah-Mazia began to walk towards the left of the two rooms.

"How did you know where this was?" Lando asked.

"Swordsman told me" Ah-Mazia replied. "You'll have to ask him how he knows. Anyway, disguise off now, Mr Armitage"

Lando took his black robe off and dropped it to the ground. Underneath he was wearing an exquisite shirt and trousers – with his armour underneath them, of course. "You go first" Ah-Mazia said. "I've got your back"

Lando walked into the small room. A Dunmer man holding a crossbow stood guarding a small trapdoor on the floor.

"Who goes there?" the Dunmer said.

"I come from House Hlaalu, I believe you've been expecting me" Lando said. He pointed at Ah-Mazia, who walked up alongside him. "This is my bodyguard, Manum-Na"

"House Hlaalu sends an Imperial, with an Argonian bodyguard?" the Dunmer snorted. "What sort of idiots do you take us for?"

The Dunmer raised his crossbow and fired it at point-blank range into Ah-Mazia's chest. Ah-Mazia fell backwards to the ground, the massive bolt sticking out of his torso.

"You BASTARD!" Lando shouted. In one fluid movement, he drew his sword, leapt forwards and swung it hard to the side, slicing straight through the Dunmer's neck. He immediately dropped down to Ah-Mazia's side.

"Ah-Mazia! Can you hear me!" he said, shaking Ah-Mazia's body vigorously. Nothing.

"Come on!"

Suddenly, Ah-Mazia opened his eyes and tried to sit up, gasping for breath.

"Thank the Nine!" Lando said.

"Lando, I can't go on" Ah-Mazia said weakly. "You'll have to go in on your own"

"No! Come on, we'll find a healer! We'll come back here later!"

"Lando… I'm dead anyway. Do you honestly think the Telvanni guards are ever going to give up? I'd rather die in combat with a great man and a great friend than spend the rest of my life rotting in a dungeon"

"Thank you, Ah-Mazia. You've been a great friend to me as well"

"One more thing" Ah-Mazia said, now fighting to speak. "Next time you see Alaina, tell her you love her"

Lando smiled. "I will do"

Suddenly, the hatch to the Morag Tong base flew open and a weathered-faced Dunmer stuck his head out.

"What's all this bloody commotion?" he said angrily. "Who are you?"

Lando leapt to his feet and placed his sword across the man's neck.

"Get Eno Hlaalu and I'll make this a lot less painful for you. Tell her it's Lando Armitage. She should know who I am"

"Kills-With-Arrows, fetch Eno, you useless lizard!" the man barked down back into the hatch. He looked at Ah-Mazia lying on the ground. "And get our healer too"

"You're going to help him?" Lando asked. The doorman nodded.

"We don't kill people we don't have writs for. That guard is the most useless s'wit I've met in my life"

Minutes later, Eno Hlaalu appeared at the entrance to the base, with an Altmer woman standing next to her.

"Miriane, do not let this Argonian die" Eno said. "Mr Armitage, come with me. I promise we're not going to harm you. I was rather hoping you'd turn up, I have something rather important to tell you"

-----------

Eno Hlaalu closed the door to her office. "So, Lando. You want to know why you're wanted dead?"

"Yes" Lando said. "Firstly, who took out the writ against me?"

"It was House Hlaalu and House Redoran, a combined agreement, if you must know. House Telvanni, those n'wahs, refused to co-operate"

"OK, that makes no sense. Why am I wanted dead?"

"Lando. You're familiar with the terrorist movement currently causing chaos in Vvardenfell?" Lando nodded.

"And I believe you were a friend of Swordsman, therefore you're familiar with the terrorists' weapon. The enchantment. The one that can make people explode" Lando nodded again.

"Lando, there's no easy way to tell you this, so I'll tell you straight. Your body has been enchanted with the spell. That's why the Great Houses want you dead"

Lando sat down on the floor in total shock. His mind spun with thoughts.

The terrorists had turned him into a bomb. The Great Houses wanted him dead. Apart from Telvanni. Then it all became clear.

"Telvanni are backing the terrorists!" Lando exclaimed.

Eno paused for a moment and thought. She followed Lando's train of thought. "By the Gods, you're right! We'll have to inform the Empire and the other two Great Houses!"

"You're on your own with that" Lando said. "I've got my own problems. How did I get enchanted with this spell?"

"I'm surprised you don't know" Eno said. "According to our mage, an enchantment like this would take up to a week to create. Don't tell me you were completely oblivious to everything that was happening to you for a week…"

Lando stood bolt upright. "I was…"

He remembered when he had first appeared in Vvardenfell. Simply woken up in the Fields of Kummu with no memory of the previous week of his life. It all became clear – he had been captured, enchanted, and then left to start his own life in Vvardenfell. An ordinary person. The perfect carrier for their spell.

"There's nothing I can do, is there?" Lando said.

"There's one thing you can do. You should go and speak to Duke Vedam Dren in Ebonheart immediately. I believe that there is now a serious threat to the Imperial presence in Vvardenfell. After that? Go to the Mages' Guild. There could be a way of removing enchantments, I'm not sure. But the least I can do is cancel the writ. You're a free man, Lando Armitage"

"Ebonheart it is, then" Lando said. "Oh, and thank you"

"My pleasure" Eno said, opening her office door. "I do hope your friend is alright"

--------

Lando ran as fast as he could back towards the entrance to the Morag Tong base. He ran out and saw Miriane, the healer. Her face said it all.

"I am very sorry" she said. "There was nothing more I could do"

Lando looked down at Ah-Mazia's lifeless body. "He risked his life to come here, to help me" he said. "None of this had anything to do with him"

He picked up Ah-Mazia's bow and placed it across the Argonian's chest.

"He was the finest archer who has ever lived" Lando said. "Do me a favour, Miriane. When he is buried, make sure that the finest bow in Vvardenfell is in his coffin"

"I shall do as you wish" Miriane said.

"How do I get to Ebonheart from here?" Lando asked.

"Head west out of Vivec. You'll meet the road from Pelagiad – go south until you reach Ebonheart"


	9. Endgame part 1

**Chapter 9 – Endgame part 1**

Lando broke into a run as he crossed the bridge out of Vivec. For the first time in his life he began to feel truly helpless. His mind raced between thoughts. He had been turned into a terrorist weapon, and he was now running to the leader of the Imperial presence looking for help. He couldn't help but feel that he was delivering the weapon to its destination. Had the Morag Tong just tricked him into helping the terrorists unleash their next plot? No, they were enemies with House Telvanni so they would be enemies with the terrorists too. But they had let Ah-Mazia die. They had treated the death of Lando's friend as a careless mistake and nothing more.

He reached the fork in the road and turned left, running towards Ebonheart. He could hear someone else running behind him, a hundred yards away or so, but he didn't care who it was.

"_Lando!"_

Lando froze. The voice was familiar.

"Alaina! Is that you?" he shouted into the darkness.

"_Yes! Where are you?"_

He ran as fast as he could in the direction the voice had come from, and soon he could see Alaina's silhouette in the moonlight. Alaina ran up to Lando and threw her arms around him, tears streaming down her face.

"Are you alright? Where's Swordsman?" Lando said.

"He's dead!" Alaina sobbed. "We got ambushed by guards, just after we sent the signal! I managed to get away but they killed him!"

"Damnit…" Lando whispered to himself. "I'm afraid Ah-Mazia didn't make it either…"

Alaina tightened her grip around Lando. Lando reciprocated. He was feeling a lot better than he had a few minutes previously. Swordsman was dead, Ah-Mazia was dead, but the person who he knew deep down he cared for the most was still alive.

Ah-Mazia's final words came into Lando's mind.

"Alaina, there's something I've been meaning to tell you"

Alaina turned to look at him.

"I love you, Alaina"

Alaina smiled and took Lando's hands in hers. "I love you too" She leaned forwards and kissed Lando on the lips. The kiss lasted a long time, before they parted and stood in silence, still holding each other's hands.

"What happened?" Alaina asked. "In the Morag Tong base?"

"I have to get to Ebonheart. I'll tell you on the way. It's a long story"

_Duke Vedam Dren's office, Ebonheart_

"This is highly classified information, but I definitely think you need to know it" Vedam said. "The spell that triggers the explosion takes up to ten minutes to cast, during which time you will be able to feel it's effects. Also, interestingly, the spell can only be cast if the caster can see the target. And that is all that's known"

The Duke placed the book back on the table. It was an extraordinary find – an ancient Dwemer book on combining the arts of destruction and enchantment. It transpired that the Dwemer had developed exactly the same spell as the terrorists were using.

"There's no way to remove the enchantment, as far as it's know" Vedam continued. "But we've got an insider in the Meric Liberation Front who says that there is only one person in their ranks who knows how to cast the trigger spell. A necromancer known only as Warlock"

"So if we can kill him…" Lando began.

"Yes, it will destroy the threat. But no-one knows where he is. The best we can do for now is keep you safe in Ebonheart, Mr Armitage"

Suddenly there was a loud knock on the door.

"Enter!" Vedam called. The door swung open and a messenger ran in, carrying a scroll.

"It's urgent" the messenger said. Vedam took the scroll from him and began to read it out loud.

"Dear Duke Vedam Dren, I write on behalf of the Meric Liberation Front. It seems you are aware of the existence of our weapon. Know that if it is activated, the explosion will be powerful enough to destroy an entire city. I assume that you would not like this to happen, so we have one demand. The city of Torch must be ours. Should you not succumb to us, we will take the city by force, and activate the weapon. You have three days from the time you receive this scroll"

Vedam hurled the scroll to the ground. "They've got us"

"No they haven't!" Lando said. "Do you honestly think that they have enough numbers to take on the entire Imperial Legion in the most heavily-defended city in Vvardenfell?"

"You think we should let them attack? You would risk losing our magnificent city?"

"We won't lose Torch! We can win this battle!"

"Why do you keep saying 'We', Mr Armitage? You are not possibly suggesting that you fight in this battle, and risk destroying Torch?"

"I am going to fight" Lando said. "And I am going to find Warlock and kill him. Think about it, if they want to trigger the spell, me and Warlock will have to be in the same place!"

"The safest thing for everyone would be for you to exile yourself, Captain. Do you not think it somewhat selfish that you should continue your life in Vvardenfell, risking the lives of potentially hundreds of people? And do you not think it even more selfish that you should place yourself in a situation where you not only pose danger to the largest Imperial stronghold in Vvardenfell, but the entire Imperial Legion at the same time?"

"Listen, Dren. The Imperial presence here in Vvardenfell is crumbling at its knees as it is. What do you think it will look like if you banish an Imperial because of a possible elven terror threat? What do you think that will do for your men's morale? And another thing. Do you want to know who it was who killed the terrorists who attacked Wolverine Hall? Do you honestly think it was those useless, racist, fascist group of halfwits who call themselves the Telvanni guard? No. It was me, and an Argonian who supports the Empire a damn sight more than he supports anything the Great Houses are doing in Morrowind"

The room fell silent.

"Can I make a point?" Alaina said, breaking the silence. Vedam nodded. "This supposed trigger spell that takes several minutes to cast. As a member of the Mages' Guild, you can believe me that you know when someone is casting a spell on you, even if the effects aren't immediately visible. That'll give Lando time to get out of the line of sight of Warlock and therefore stop the spell being cast. Furthermore, simply drinking a dispelling potion will stop the effect of the trigger spell. Duke, Lando is not a threat. You should concentrate on beating the terrorists in battle"

"So, you believe we can defend Torch" Dren said. "And I am beginning to agree with you. Furthermore, I see no other option. And I will let you fight alongside us"

"Thank you for coming to your senses. I'll see you in Torch"

"Very well. Three days, then"

_Torch, two days later_

In a small rented home in Torch, Lando and Alaina were both busy at work – Alaina operating high-quality pieces of alchemy equipment that had been lent to her by the Mages' Guild, Lando preparing equipment for tomorrow's battle.

"Alaina, do you still want to come back to Cyrodiil with me?" Lando said. "I mean, after all this is over?"

Alaina turned to Lando and smiled. "I'd like that very much"

"Chorrol Mages' Guild has a vacancy for an in-house alchemist, I could try and pull a few strings and get you the job"

"Could you?"

"My father is a smith in Chorrol, he makes weapons to give to the Guild for enchanting, so my whole family are on good terms with the Guild in Chorrol"

"What family do you have in Cyrodiil, Lando?"

"My parents live in Chorrol, my brother moved to High Rock when he married a Breton, and my sister lives in Anvil"

"Do you think they're wondering where you are?"

"It would be nice to think so. That'll have to be our first port of call when we get back to Cyrodiil. I'll have some stories to tell down in the Oak and Crosier, that's for sure"

"Do you think they're worried you might be dead?"

"Absolutely not. We've always had a philosophy in the Armitage family. If someone goes missing, they're still alive until they're reported as dead"

Alaina nodded.

What about your family…"

Lando suddenly stopped when he remembered Swordsman's story.

"I suppose I'm all that's left" Alaina said. "My mother died when I was very young, and you know what happened to my father…"

Alaina emptied the contents of her retort into three iron flasks. She handed them to Lando.

"Finished at last. If you start to feel strange, drink one of these. It'll dispel the effects of the trigger spell and make you immune to magic for a short time, only 30 seconds or so, but enough to get out the way"

"Thank you" Lando smiled. "I've got these for you as well"

Lando pointed to the table in front of him, where a large array of equipment was set out. "You'll need some form of armour. I managed to get you a basic suit of Netch leather armour from the Imperial armoury, and a crossbow. It's Dwarven, quite rare. It took a lot of persuasion for them to hand it over!"

Lando presented the crossbow to Alaina. It was immaculately made, with high-quality moving parts, forged from a metal that was golden in appearance but tougher than steel.

"I'm going to look through all the old Dwemer accounts in the Imperial library" Alaina said, taking the crossbow. "They detail everything that can be found in the old strongholds, in the armouries and the tombs. I want to find myself a nice ebony or glass crossbow"

"I can find you an Elven one easily in Cyrodiil, I expect" Lando said. "Collectors of rare weapons despise Cyrodiil. All you ever find there is old Ayleid weapons. Never anything glass, ebony or Daedric…"

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" Lando called. The door opened and the General of the Torch guard, Luciano Daurus, walked in.

"I want to know your plan, Lando" Daurus said. "You know, for not getting yourself blown up"

"Alaina's brewed me up a potion that will stop the trigger spell" Lando said. "And if the spell's being cast on me he must be close. I haven't really thought much further than that"

"You were a Captain in the guard back in Cyrodiil, weren't you?" Daurus asked. Lando nodded. "I was in the Imperial Legion before that. Been doing it for years"

"Good, it'll be nice to have some experience amongst our ranks" Daurus sighed. "Most of the men here are new recruits in the Legion, all recruited when Torch was built. Most of them have never been in a proper battle in their lives"

"At least they're properly equipped" Lando said. "The terrorists may have experience but they'll be fighting us with sticks and stones"

A guard ran up behind Daurus and tapped him on the shoulder. An Altmer in glistening glass armour followed him. Daurus turned around.

"Yes, Associate, what is it?"

"This is Daharta of the Altmer Legion"

"Summerset Isle?" Daurus said, shaking hands with the Altmer.

"That's right. One hundred of us travelled here once we heard of the attack on Wolverine Hall. We thought you could use some assistance against our mutual enemy" Daharta said. "We arrived in Ebonheart this morning, and were told to come straight here. We're Battlemages, one hundred strong, under your command, General"

"You know what?" Daurus said. "I think we now have a very good chance of victory"


	10. Endgame part 2

**Chapter 10 – Endgame part 2**

The scout scanned the horizon in all directions for about the hundredth time. He had been waiting all day for any sight of the terrorist army and was having doubts on whether they had attacked by a different route, or if they were even attacking at all.

Then he saw something. Movement on the horizon. Casting an Invisibility spell the scout ran towards the source of the movement. He ran over a small hill, and saw something that made his blood run cold.

There must have been three hundred men at least, all terrorists dressed in worn armour and their signature black helmets. At the edge of the army, archers weaved in and out of the rocks, bringing down attacking Cliff Racers with arrows.

The scout was prepared for this. In a flash of white light, he disappeared. Divine Intervention, straight back to Torch.

-----------

General Daurus was waiting for the scout outside the chapel.

"They're coming!" the scout said as soon as the spell transported him to the chapel. "They're south of Tel Uvrith, three hundred strong, moving quickly, we've got an hour, if that!"

"Good work" Daurus said. "Arm yourself and get on the battlements"

_Forty-five minutes later_

Word quickly passed around Torch that the attack was imminent. Lando was part of a group of soldiers protecting the drawbridge. Alaina was supposed to be on the battlements with her crossbow, but had snuck across the drawbridge to be with Lando.

"Three hundred…" Alaina said. "How many do we have?"

"Around two hundred. We're outnumbered but better prepared" Lando replied.

"I hope you're right…"

"Contact!" Someone shouted. The soldier pointed east.

The entire Meric Liberation Front army was running towards Torch!

"Open fire!"

Everyone carrying any form of ranged weapon fired it at the terrorists. The Altmer battlemages in the group launched a wave of fireballs and bolts of lightning.

Many of the terrorists were taken out, but they acted quickly. An enormous volley of arrows soared towards Torch, pummelling both the soldiers on the battlements and those defending the drawbridge.

"Drawbridge guard! Engage at will!" General Daurus bellowed from the battlements.

"Swordsmen, move forwards!" an officer in Lando's team shouted. "Archers, covering fire!"

The drawbridge guards responded with their own volley of fire, staggering their attacks so a constant wave of arrows was being fired at the terrorists. The soldiers on the battlements did the same, but the terrorists were quick to respond. Arrows, fireballs and bolts of lightning flew towards Torch, slamming into the walls. Chunks of rock fell into the moat from where the magic had blasted them off. The marksmen on the battlements ducked in cover, firing their own ranged weapons back at the terrorists.

Meanwhile, Lando and around twenty other soldiers equipped with a variety of swords, axes and maces ran towards the terrorists, their shields in front of them to defend themselves from arrows.

"Watch out for mages!" an officer shouted.

The group collided with the terrorists, swinging their weapons with all their might. The entire terrorist army seemed to briefly reel in shock from the ferocity of the attack.

"Lando!" he heard Alaina shouting from a short distance behind him. "Watch out!"

In a burst of bright blue light, a towering Frost Atronach materialised in front of Lando and immediately swung at him with an enormous icy fist. Lando blocked the blow with his shield but no sooner had he done so when the Atronach's other arm delivered a crushing blow to the side of Lando's head. A tremendous pain shot through the entire upper half of his body and his vision exploded into a field of colour and stars. He felt himself falling to the ground.

"Take that mage out!" he shouted weakly. An Imperial soldier near him sighted the terrorist wizard and skilfully brought him down with his bow. Lando leapt to his feet as the Atronach simply vanished into thin air.

"Fall back! There's too many of them!" somebody shouted. Lando looked around and saw that everyone was retreating towards the drawbridge – he began to do the same, back-pedalling and parrying attacks with his shield.

On the battlements, Daurus continued to direct volleys of arrow fire and ranged spells into the terrorist army, all the time keeping his eye out for anyone who could possibly be the Warlock.

Suddenly, there was a bright purple glow which seemed to come from everywhere. "What's that?" Daurus shouted. "On guard!"

Daurus looked over the battlements at the moat, the source of the glow, and his blood ran cold.

The entire moat had suddenly frozen into solid ice.

Warlock.

"They've frozen the moat!" Lando shouted. "Fall back into the city!"

The fall-back then became a full-scale retreat as everyone ran towards the drawbridge, across it and into the relative safety of Torch. As the last Imperial soldier crossed the bridge, it was quickly raised and the portcullis slammed shut.

Lando had no sooner got into the city gates when Daurus ran down from the battlements towards him.

"He's here, Lando! It must have been him who froze the lake…"

He stopped and looked at the wall with a look of dread on his face.

The same purple glow was now emanating from the wall.

"Get off the battlements!" Daurus yelled. "Run for your lives! Now!"

What happened next was truly incredible. The wall seemed to just turn into water. An enormous wall of water, surrounding the entirety of Torch. It hung in mid-air for a fraction of a second before it cascaded to the ground with a roar louder than the most ferocious thunderstorms – bringing everyone still left on the battlements to the ground with it.

"Attack! Attack!" Daurus yelled at the infantry stationed within the city walls. "Hold them off!"

At that point, every soldier in Torch ran towards the terrorist army. This was truly the last stand.

-------------

"Alaina! Where are you?" Lando shouted amongst the chaos. She quickly appeared at his side.

"What is it?" she said.

"Warlock! He's here!"

Alaina looked at Lando. A look of pain suddenly appeared on his face.

"What is it?"

"I think he's seen me…"

Lando could feel a tremendous pain inside his chest – it literally felt like a fire was burning inside him. He pulled one of the phials of Alaina's potion and drank its contents.

Nothing.

He drank another.

Still nothing.

"It's not working!" Lando began to run west, away from the terrorists, hoping to get out of Warlock's field of vision. The pain in his chest grew by the second. He ran around the side of a building and collapsed on the ground. The pain didn't subside. How could he still have been in Warlock's field of vision?

"Up there!" Alaina shouted, pointing at the sky.

Lando looked up and saw an amazing sight. An elderly Dunmer in a black robe was literally flying through the sky – all the time his eyesight fixed on Lando.

"Get inside!" Alaina said, dragging Lando towards the door of the nearby building.

"Can't… all the doors have been locked…" Lando was now struggling to speak. He shakily got to his feet. He had to kill Warlock. But how?

Alaina watched Warlock's flight path. He seemed to be travelling in an arc – he was now heading back towards the ground. It suddenly became clear.

"He's using a spell to let himself jump higher!" Alaina said. "The only way you'll be able to kill him is when he's near the ground so you'll have to work out where he's going to land!"

Warlock landed on a rooftop and leapt again, soaring up into the sky. Lando looked around, saw the battle going on by what was left of the moat. The Imperial army were all over the terrorists. Now the fight had been taken to open ground, the Imperials' superior weapons and the help from the Altmer were simply too much for the terrorists to be able to take.

He tried to run in the same direction that Warlock was gliding but the pain became too great. He passed out and fell to the floor.

"No! Lando!" Alaina had to do something. She wrenched Lando's sword from his hands and ran as fast as she could, following Warlock's flight, all the time trying to gauge where he would land.

She saw the necromancer about to land, maybe 5 yards in front of him.

_Come on…_

Suddenly, she tripped, stumbled forwards and fell to the ground.

_No!_

Thinking quickly, she closed her eyes, rolled over onto her back and held Lando's sword towards the sky…

She felt a tremendous weight slam into the sword, and blood pour down her arms. But it wasn't her own blood.

"Alaina!"

Lando ran towards her and fell down by her side, throwing Warlock's dead body off her.

"You did it!" He bent down and kissed Alaina on the lips, then fell to the ground, exhausted.

"_They're retreating!" _he heard General Daurus shout. _"We did it! We won!"_

Alaina sat up and handed Lando's sword back to him. The pair embraced then both stood up.

"Fancy a pint?" Alaina asked.

Lando took her hand in his. "Though you'd never ask!"


	11. Epilogue

**Chapter 11 – Epilogue**

Ah-Mazia's funeral in Gnaar Mok was well attended by the residents of the small fishing village. It seemed that although many of the villagers knew of his dark past, they had also accepted it and grown to know the Argonian as a close friend.

As well as the villagers of Gnaar Mok, four other people attended the service. Jee-Na, his old friend from the Thieves' Guild. Delphine Jend, the expert Destructionist, who had fought alongside him in a raid on Vivec Guild of Mages. And of course, Lando Armitage and Alaina Winterstar.

As the group stood around Ah-Mazia's open grave, Lando stepped forwards.

"It has always been said that Argonians are often reclusive, but are fiercely loyal to those who they see as friends. When I first met Ah-Mazia and freed him from slavery, we became friends. And when I met him again a few weeks ago he had not forgotten this. Throughout the struggle against the terrorist threat he did not once leave my side. He may have a shadowy past, but this is surely the act of a good friend"

Lando looked down into Ah-Mazia's grave and remembered his conversation with Miriane, the Morag Tong healer. He took a scroll from his pocket which had been delivered to him in his room at the inn in Torch the previous day.

_Dear Mr Armitage,_

_I'm afraid I could not keep the promise I made for you. I have simply not had the time, as all healers in the land have been ordered to Torch to aid those injured in battle. However, I have discovered that what you are looking for resides in the Daedric shrine, Maelkashishi, west of Gnisis._

_Kind regards and best of luck in your future endeavours,_

_Miriane_

_-------------_

The Forgotten Galleries of the Daedric ruin of Maelkashishi vaulted up into darkness. Enormous shadows projected by rocky outcrops were cast by Lando's torch.

"This is it" Alaina said. "It should be up near the top somewhere" She produced an amulet from her robe and handed it to Lando.

"What's this?" he asked.

"It's a Slowfalling amulet, in case you lose your footing"

Lando placed the amulet around his neck and walked over to the wall. The cavern had been cut roughly from rock and many natural handholds and footholds could be found in its surface.

"You've got five minutes of light, then" Alaina called. She produced a glass bottle and smashed it on the floor of the cavern. There was a bright white flash and the cave was illuminated as bright as daylight.

Lando began skilfully free-climbing up the wall of the cavern, moving from side to side to avoid outcrops, checking each outcrop as he passed it for what he was looking for.

Down on the ground, Alaina scanned the cavern. One of the outcrops near the roof of the cavern was larger than the rest, and encircled by an ornate stone wall, around a foot in height, decorated in the same style as the Daedric architecture surrounding the cavern.

"Try that one" Alaina called up to Lando, pointing to the outcrop. Lando climbed until he was slightly above the outcrop, but on the opposite side of the cavern from it, and leapt backwards from the wall. The Slowfalling amulet took effect immediately and he glided gently onto the large outcrop. On the surface of the ledge were a worn wooden chest and a skeleton, and in the skeleton's hands was what they had come here for.

"I've found it!" he called down to Alaina. He walked over to the skeleton and took the longbow from its hands. He held it up in front of him and admired it. It was crafted from ebony but imbued with the spirit of a lesser Daedra, and was ornately decorated with red jewels and Daedric runes.

The finest longbow in Vvardenfell.

_**The End**_

Lando's story continues in The Last Winter, found in the Oblivion section.

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